- Title: FRANCE: Sabotage on French railways as strikes continue into their eighth day
- Date: 21st November 2007
- Summary: (BN09) PARIS, FRANCE (NOVEMBER 21, 2007) (REUTERS) MAP SHOWING AREAS WHERE THE SABOTAGE TOOK PLACE
- Embargoed: 6th December 2007 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France
- Country: France
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA9O91IN41SCX2HKHYR7A26CQS7
- Story Text: A number of cases of sabotage have damaged France's high-speed rail network causing delays to services throughout the country, according to the country's state rail operator SNCF.
Widespread sabotage has damaged France's high-speed rail network and caused huge delays to services already hit by an eight-day transport strike, a senior executive at the SNCF state railways said on Wednesday (November 21).
Mireille Faugere, director of travellers at SNCF, said: "We found out that there were operations of sabotage on all of our speed train lines.
This sabotage affected a large part of our cables and also our switchboard."
The majority of railwaymen are now back at work ahead of the resumption of negotiations in their dispute over pension reform.
Arsonists are believed to have damaged cabling on the eastern TGV line, preventing trains from running since 6.00 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Wednesday. On the western side of the network a fire had damaged 30-km (18 miles).
The SNCF said it expected the sabotage to cause delays of three hours elsewhere on the TGV network that carries the bulk of traffic between the major cities in France.
"I think it (the sabotage) will cause more trouble for people, more irritation but I think we can also hope that good sense will prevail," said one traveller.
SNCF management did not say who was behind the sabotage although they had previously warned that union militants might try to damage the network to prevent a return to normal on the network.
The French government, unions and management are due to resume negotiations on Wednesday morning aimed at ending the strike that has snarled nation-wide rail traffic and hit public transport in Paris since November
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday (November 20) he would not go back on his contested pension reform, whichlong-standing privileges for some state workers, but indicated he was ready to make concessions in other areas.
Although the vast majority of railwayman and Paris transport workers have returned to work, a hard core of unionists have refused to halt their strike and are demanding the complete withdrawal of the centre-right government's pension reform.
The pensions showdown is the biggest challenge Sarkozy has faced since taking office in May and his government fears its credibility would be destroyed if it gives in to the unions.
Bolstering Sarkozy, an opinion poll published in the conservative Le Figaro newspaper on Wednesday said 68 percent of people thought the strike was not justified.
Teachers, postal workers and civil servants returned to work on Wednesday after a one-day strike on Tuesday called to protest against the government's economic programme. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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