Most French trains are at a standstill, schools are closed and the Eiffel Tower is warning visitors to stay away as unions hold nationwide strikes and protests over the government’s retirement reform.
Paris deployed 6,000 police for what’s expected to be a major demonstration Thursday through the capital, as subway stations across the city were shuttered, multiplying traffic jams.
Public sector workers fear President Emmanuel Macron’s reform will force them to work longer and shrink their pensions. The transportation minister said he will meet with unions Thursday to try to defuse tensions.
A commuter watches an information board, at the Saint Lazare station, in Paris, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. Tourists are canceling travel plans and Paris is deploying thousands of police as France girds for massive, nationwide strikes and protests against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to overhaul the retirement system. (AP PhotoThibault Camus)
The SNCF railway said about nine out of 10 high-speed trains are canceled, as are about 30 percent of Air France’s domestic flights.
Paris monuments also warned of strike disruptions, and many tourists canceled plans to visit.
A stationary train parked at the Gare St-Charles station in Marseille, southern France, as services wind-down Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. France is getting ready for massive, nationwide strikes from Thursday against government plans to overhaul the state pension system that will disrupt trains, buses and flights and force many schools to close. (AP PhotoDaniel Cole)
A train is pictured at the Gare St-Charles station in Marseille, southern France, as services begin to wind-down Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. France is getting ready for massive, nationwide strikes from Thursday against government plans to overhaul the state pension system that will disrupt trains, buses and flights and force many schools to close.AP PhotoDaniel Cole)