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STRIKES

LATEST: How March pension strikes will affect Paris

Unions are ramping up actions in their battle against French pension reforms, promising to "bring France to a halt" - here's how this will affect Paris on Tuesday and the rest of the week.

Published: 6 March 2023 11:14 CET
Updated: 7 March 2023 08:08 CET
LATEST: How March pension strikes will affect Paris
Photo by Philippe LOPEZ / AFP

Tuesday, March 7th marks the resumption of strike action in the ongoing battle against French pension reform, but unlike the previous one-day actions, some unions have declared ‘rolling’ strikes, meaning that disruption is likely to continue in the days to come.

You can find the full national roundup of strike actions HERE and a look at how drivers will be affected HERE, but here’s what we know about how the strikes will affect life in Paris. 

Public transport

Workers on the city’s RATP public transport network have declared a rolling strike, so disruption will continue through the week.

At present we have only the detailed timetables for Tuesday, but revised strike timetables will be published at 5pm each day for the following day’s services. Keep up with all the latest developments in our strike section HERE.

Metro

All of the city’s Metro lines will run on Tuesday, at least for part of the day, but services will be limited. Those lines that do run are likely to be busier than usual.

  • Lines 1 and 14, which are automated, will run as normal but are likely to be very busy
  • Line 6 will run between 5.30am and 8pm, with 1 train in 3 of the normal services during rush hour and 1 in 4 the rest of the day
  • Lines 2, 5, 7, 7bis, 9 and 10 will run only during rush hour (6.30am to 9.30am and 4.30pm to 7.30pm) with an average of 1 in 3 of the normal services
  • Lines 3, 11, 12 and 13 will run only during rush hour, with an average of 1 in 3 of the normal services and limited service along the lines. Line 3 will run only between Pont de Levellois and Havre-Caumartin, line 11 will run only between Mairie des Lilas and Belleville, line 12 will run only between Mairie d’Issy and Concorde and line 13 will run only to Duroc.
  • Lines 3bis and 8 will run only during the morning rush hour, with 1 in 3 of normal services. Line 8 will run only between Créteil-Pointe du Lac and Reuilly-Diderot.
  • The OrlyVal shuttle to Orly airport will not be running at all.

Tram

On the tram network all lines will be running and T6 will run as normal. T1, T2 and T8 will have 3 in 4 of the normal services, T3b will have 2 in 3, T3a and T5 will have 3 in 5 of normal services and T7 will have half the normal services.

Bus

On the bus network three quarters of the normal services will run and the Noctilien night bus network will run as normal.

RER/Transilien

On the suburban rail network services will be limited, but all lines are open

  • RER A will run half its normal services, stopping at 9pm
  • RER B – which connects Paris to its two airports – will run half its normal services at rush hour and 1 in 3 the rest of the day, with services stopping at 9.50pm.
  • RER C will run 1 in 5 services with no trains between Paris-Austerlitz and Pontoise, or Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and Versailles-Rives-Gauche
  • RER D will run 1 in 5 services with no trains between Châtelet and Gare du Lyon
  • RER E will run 1 service in 10 with no trains between Pantin and Haussmann-Saint-Lazare
  • Transilien lines H, K and U will run 1 in 3 services; with the Gare du Nord connection suspended
  • Lines J, L, N and R will run 1 service in 5
  • Line P will run 1 service in 10 with a limited route

Flights – air traffic controllers will strike on March 7th and March 8th, with 20 percent of flights in and out of Paris Charles de Gaulle airport cancelled and 30 percent of flights cancelled in and out of Paris Orly and Beauvais. Airport workers at Charles de Gaulle also intend to hold a picket at Terminal 2E.

Trains/Eurostar – national and international rail services in and our of the capital will see severe disruption – full details here.

Waste collection – garbage workers belonging to the CGT union have declared a rolling strike that will continue throughout the week. The CGT does not represent all city waste collectors but is the largest union, so expect to see plenty of uncollected bins.

Schools – teaching unions have declared a one-day strike on March 7th, although some teachers will continue their action into March 8th. March 9th will see a day of demonstrations from students and pupils that will include blockading some schools. 

Roadblocks – lorry drivers are involved in this week’s strike action for the first time during these protests and have declared their intention to create blockades around the outskirts of the city, particularly targeting industrial estates and entry routes to the city.

Roadblocks and roundabout protests – how strikes will affect drivers 

Refinery blockades – employees at the country’s oil refineries are also staging strikes and blockades, with the intention of blocking fuel supplies for filling stations. However French media report that filling stations are currently well stocked with petrol/gasoline and diesel, so it’s unlikely that we will see shortages this week.

Deliveroo and other delivery services – since winning status as employees (rather than self-employed) drivers for delivery platforms such as Deliveroo and UberEats have also gained union representation. CGT Transports, the largest union among delivery workers, is calling on them to strike on March 7th. However as this is their first strike call, it is difficult to know how many workers will support it.

Tourist attractions – such as galleries and the Eiffel Tower will open as normal.

Demos – as with the previous one-day actions, demos are planned across France on Tuesday, March 7th. In Paris, the procession will meet at 2pm at Sèvres-Babylone and march toward Place d’Italie.

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CLIMATE CRISIS

How Paris plans to keep everyone cool this summer – and beyond

With another long, hot summer predicted, Paris city officials have unveiled their plans to keep the capital cool this summer - from 'cool islands' and water fountains to planting trees and painting roofs white.

Published: 8 June 2023 08:47 CEST
How Paris plans to keep everyone cool this summer - and beyond

“More access to water, more shade, more coolness” will be the triple-treat in the coming months for anyone in the city, as part of the “Paris s’adapt” plan, unveiled by city hall on Tuesday. 

“Starting this summer, we’ll step up adaptation measures to prepare the city for extreme heat”, Dan Lert, the capital’s deputy mayor in charge of the Ecological Transition, the Climate Plan, Water and Energy. 

According to a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health in April, Paris has the highest ‘lethal risk’ of any European city during heatwaves, and is warming twice as fast as the global average.

Last year, excess deaths in the greater Paris Île-de-France region rose 27 percent among over-75s and 13 percent for those aged between 15 and 74 during heatwaves. In addition, there were 2,082 emergency room visits (1,333 of which required hospitalisation) and 285 SOS Médecins interventions.

The city also suffers from the ‘urban heat island’ effect – meaning it is significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas due to human activities – which can push temperatures up an additional 10C during hot periods. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day.

“The summer of 2022, with 22 days of heatwave, was a foretaste of what lies ahead. This will be the norm in Paris in the future,” Lert told Libération. 

By 2050, the capital’s climate is predicted to be similar to that of Seville, with an average of three weeks of heatwave per year, temperature peaks of 50C and three times as many ‘tropical nights’ – when the temperature doesn’t fall below 20C – compared to today.

This summer, to reinforce an existing network of 1,200 fountains and almost 1,000 “cool islands” (green spaces, air-conditioned public buildings, swimming areas…), 73 “extremely water-efficient” misting fountains, 10 misters and 24 additional shaded areas will be installed. 

An additional 29 so-called “Oasis courtyards” will be created, to complement the 100 already in existence. These areas have more vegetation than other parts of the city, which has “ a significant impact in terms of cooling”. 

The number of cool islands in Paris has increased between five and seven-fold since 2020, according to City Hall.

In 2022, Paris tested six removable wooden shades in the 12th arrondissement. “Below them, we noted a reduction in temperature of almost 10C,” Lert said. “The feedback has been extremely positive, which is why we’re extending the scheme.”

Meanwhile, an experiment of repainting roofs on day nurseries, schools and gymnasiums white – a colour that reflects sunlight – has been deemed a success, reducing temperatures inside by as much as 6C. 

In total, the roofs of another 40 crèches, schools and libraries will be painted white by 2025.

While the capital hasn’t seen any rain for weeks, Lert insisted that “there is no shortage of water in Paris and there won’t be”. But he refused to rule out the possibility of restrictions later in the summer if necessary. 

He said some 800 shopkeepers have pledged to refill water bottles on request free of charge, part of the L’eau de Paris plan which encourages people to ditch plastic bottles of mineral water and drink tap water from refillable bottles.

The city is also aiming to make water savings of 10 percent, and will continue work to limit the leak rate to 8 percent.

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