Transport strike causes chaos in France
Updated on 14 November 2007
Striking transport and energy workers have caused chaos in France for the second time in a month in a protest over pensions.
Train services are severly disrupted and energy production capacity reduced in an open-ended strike that began on Tuesday evening.
Workers are angry about a plan to cut back on generous pensions enjoyed by 500,000 public sector workers.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has broad public support for the reform which aims to bring the pensions in line with those of all other workers ahead of a broader pension reform next year.
The strike is being billed as his biggest test since he was elected in May promising change.
The dispute centres on Mr Sarkozy's plan to end so-called "special regimes" that let a few workers retire after 37.5 years of pension contributions compared to 40 years for everyone else.
They were introduced after World War Two for workers in arduous jobs but they cost the state £3.55 billion a year and the government says they are outdated.
Parisians could be seen doubling up on mopeds, on borrowed bikes or scooters and walking to get into work.
Those choosing to take their cars faced 225 miles of traffic jams in the Paris region alone, 70 miles more than usual.
Only a handful of trains are scheduled to run and Paris's metro and bus systems are operating vastly reduced services, although some lines are less affected than predicted.
Striking energy workers have cut about 12 per cent of production capacity at EDF nuclear plants and blocked ships and gas input into the network at the Fos-sur-Mer gas terminal, the leading energy union said.
"I'm pretty hacked off about the strike. Why? Because my husband is a truck driver, who drives 14 hours a day, who has no bonuses, who has five weeks paid annual leave, who will retire at 60. And he says nothing," said Christine Meyer, a traveller at Gare de l'Est station.
Gerard Alaux, a nursing home owner who walked four miles to work because his metro line was not working, said: "I have nurses, carers and other workers who do a very hard job and they don't have special pensions.
"We can't avoid pension reform in this day and age."
© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.
These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.
