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In the Paris region, about 12 million people travel daily by public transport and the media predicted that this Thursday would be a “black day”.
But in the French capital, despite the fact that few metros circulated today, there was no overcrowding, as many workers chose to work remotely or take leave before the three-day weekend, due to the 11 de November bridge.
Only the automated lines (1 and 14) are operating normally, with five lines closed and the other only operating at peak hours, with very little service.
On suburban trains (RER), the situation was no different, with one in three and one in two circulating, depending on the lines, because communication from French trade union centers was not limited to the metropolitan metro: it was expected, in addition to a stop Public transport across the country, as well as a strike in the education, health and postal sectors.
For a long time, all the unions of the Paris Transport Authority (RATP) have been mobilizing to demand higher salaries and better working conditions.
RATP, like other companies in the transportation sector, suffers from a chronic shortage of workers, due to recruitment difficulties, and from an explosion of absenteeism, particularly in its bus network.
Declining purchasing power on the back of rampant inflation has fueled protests across Europe, with national strikes on Wednesday in Belgium and Greece and also announcing an unprecedented strike by UK nurses in the coming months.
A strike at French refineries in October disrupted fuel distribution across France for several weeks.
The Secretary-General of one of France’s largest unions, the General Confederation of Workers (CGT), Philippe Martinez insisted at the Nîmes parade in the south of the country.
But, as on the previous protest day on October 27 – which saw 1,360 protesters in the capital and 14,000 in the rest of the country – few people took to the streets. Police counted 1,000 protesters in Lyon, 650 in Lille, and 300 in Bordeaux.
In Paris, there were 10,000, according to CGT, with police not providing numbers during the afternoon.
A general increase in wages is the main demand, in addition to an increase in the minimum wage to a total of 2,000 euros and a comparison of wages with inflation, which was the case in France until 1983.
Another reason for this strike is the reform of the pension system, in which the government presented its project at the beginning of 2023 and the gradual increase of the retirement age until 2025 is already confirmed.
The intention to open bus lines to competition by 2025, as well as the fact that former French Prime Minister Jean Castix was appointed director of this public company, did not help the negotiations, although the latter, who has not yet officially taken office, announced that it would start negotiations. in December.
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