Second day of general strike continues French travel disruptions

On Friday, France saw a second day of strikes in protest of the government’s handling of the economic crisis, and transport services throughout the country continued to be affected.

Eurostar services to Paris were reported to be running on a normal schedule, but passengers had been advised that connecting services on SNCF are affected by the strike.

A Eurostar spokesman said that passengers with tickets for connections from Paris will be able to book on alternate dates, but that refunds would be an option.

On Thursday, around one-third of the flights scheduled out of Orly airport in Paris were cancelled, and passengers at Charles de Gaulle Airport, the city’s largest, experienced delays of an hour and a half on average.

British Airways and Flybe reported, however, that none of their flights to and from France were affected.

Also in the UK, airports operator BAA indicated that services out of Heathrow were operating normally.

So far, more than two million people have taken to the streets in protest, in the major cities of France.

Private and public sector employees, ranging from airport staff and train drivers to postal workers and teachers, have joined the demonstrations about the government’s inaction to rising unemployment in the country.

SNCF, France’s rail operator, said that approximately 40 per cent of its TGV or high-speed services would be cancelled and that around 60 per cent of all regional services would be cut as well.

www.sncf.com