French travelers heading home for the holidays faced canceled trains and packed roads, as a strike over pension reform showed no signs of easing. Macron urged for a "truce" and for striking workers to act "responsibly."
Image: picture-alliance/AA/J. Mattia
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Travelers and tourists in France struggled to reach their destinations on Saturday as ongoing strikes against the government's pension reforms disrupted travel for the Christmas holidays.
National rail operator SNCF announced plans to inform passengers in advance about cancelations and to offer ticket exchanges.
Despite the plans, only half of SNCF's high-speed trains were running. Regional trains, including in Paris, continued to be severely disrupted.
A two-week nationwide strike against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to overhaul the pension system has forced hundreds of thousands of people to seek alternative modes of transportation during one of the busiest times of the year.
Car-sharing services and bus companies have seen a surge in reservations, although vehicles are becoming increasingly hard to come by.
"We tried other ways, BlaBlaCar, etc, but everything is full, everything is taken," Jerome Pelletier, a manager in the textile industry, told news agency AFP.
Macron urges Christmas 'truce'
Macron, who is on visit to the Ivory Coast, urged transportation workers on Saturday to suspend the strikes during the holiday season.
"Strike action is justifiable and protected by the constitution, but I think there are moments in a nation's life when it is good to observe a truce out of respect for families and family life," he said.
Macron added that briefly suspending the strike would not mean that unions abandoned their demands.
Instead, it would show "the sense of responsibility and the respect owed to French people who are sometimes apart and wish to be reunited during this festive period," he said.
Most transportation unions have called for the strikes to continue over the holiday period after the French government and union leaders failed to end the standoff this week.
What are the pension reforms?
Macron's reform plans include merging France's 42 separate pension regimes into a single, point-based system.
The reforms would also scrap schemes that offered advantages to mainly public-sector workers — including train drivers who can retire at the age of 52.
The plans would also raise the age workers would have to reach in order to get a full pension from 62 to 64.
The government argues that the new system would be more transparent and fairer, while unions and many French workers worry that they would have to work longer for lower pensions.
French public sector workers are striking over controversial pension reforms proposed by President Emmanuel Macron. Schools closed, transport is disrupted and emergency rooms are operating with minimum staff.
Image: Reuters/G. Fuentes
Walkout causes gridlock
Many workers hoped to return to work on Friday. Some commuters opted to hire bicycles and scooters and others took their cars. This led to large traffic jams in French cities. There were nearly 300 kilometers of traffic jams in the Paris region.
Image: Reuters/C. Platiau
Transportation grinds to a halt
90% of high-speed trains and 70% of regional trains were cancelled on Friday, the French railway announced. The French civil aviation authority instructed airlines to reduce their Friday flight traffic from central airports to 20%.
Image: Reuters/C. Platiau
A fairer system?
Public sector workers are unhappy about a reform that would see France transition to a points-based pension system from its current system that has 42 sector-specific pension schemes. Currently, rail workers, mariners and some ballet dancers can retire up to 10 years earlier than other workers. President Macron said that the proposed system would be fairer for everyone.
Image: imago images/IP3press/G. Jeremias
Pensions debate without movement
Macron's proposals follow a long tradition of French government pension reform proposals stretching for three decades. Each reform has been met with massive demonstrations and none of the changes has succeeded in simplifying the pension system.
Image: Reuters/B. Tessier
United behind a low retirement age
Years of protests against pension reforms have successfully kept the retirement age low. In France, the pension age was raised to 62 years. This is among the lowest in OECD countries, despite being raised from 60 years in 2010 reforms. In Germany, retirement is at 67 years old.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. Mahoudeau
Stronger together?
French union leaders are the driving force behind the nationwide strike — but they are not united. The CGT union is the most hardline. It rejects any pension reform proposals and said workers had blocked seven out of eight of the countries oil refineries. The CFDT union is more moderate and is open to the idea of a points-based system.
Image: picture-alliance/Zuma/J. Colburn
Protests sparked
While the majority of protesting consisted of peaceful marches, masked protesters also vandalized bus stops, smashed shop windows, and threw fireworks at police as demonstrators progressed through Paris on Thursday.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Mattia
Seeing red at pension proposals
The so-called Yellow Vests are known for their direct approach to protesting and have said they would join the strikes. Authorities are bracing themselves for possible violence. The yellow-vest movement has swelled into anti-government and anti-inequality protests. Many see the general strike in France as protecting the country's social safety net — not just about preserving pensions.
Image: Reuters/J.-P. Pelissier
Riot police move in
After peaceful protesting escalated to include rioting and damage to public and private property, security forces also intensified their tactics. Riot police charged crowds and fired tear gas to disperse violent demonstrators.
Image: Reuters/Herault Infos
Police and protesters clash in Paris
Police clashed with protesters on Thursday in Nantes, Montpellier, Paris as well as other cities. Masked demonstrators started fires, smashed storefronts, and vandalized cars.
