- Title: FRANCE: French railworkers on third day of strike
- Date: 13th June 2014
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JUNE 13, 2014) (REUTERS) COMMUTERS ON PLATFORM AT PARIS TRAIN STATION GARE DE LYON SNCF TRAINS AND COMMUTERS/ PEOPLE GETTING ON TRAIN VARIOUS OF COMMUTERS INFORMATION BOARD/ WITH STARBUCKS COFFEE STAND PEOPLE LOOKING AT INFORMATION BOARD SIGN READING (French): 'BECAUSE OF A NATIONAL STRIKE THE TRAIN TRAFFIC IS DISRUPTED' (SOUNDBITE) (English) TOURIST MOI SAYING: "I'm not angry, I'm visiting so it's ok." VARIOUS OF TRAVELLERS LOOKING AT INFORMATION BOARD INFORMATION BOARD ANNOUNCING LATE TRAINS MAN ON THE PHONE AS HE LOOKS AT INFORMATION BOARD ANOTHER INFORMATION BOARD PASSENGERS TRYING TO FIND OUT IF THEIR TRAINS WERE CANCELLED OR NOT (SOUNDBITE) (English) TOURIST CAMILLA HITSCHKE SAYING: "We're trying to get down to the South for seven days and now we're not able to get there so we're really upset that this is going on. We don't understand why they will affect the train system which is so much revenue for the country." TOURISTS TALKING TO FRENCH RAILWAY (SNCF) WORKER TRAVELLERS MICHELE AND ISABELLE WITH LUGGAGE ON PLATFORM (SOUNDBITE) (French) TRAVELLERS MICHELE AND ISABELLE SAYING: "We were here earlier than originally planned so we'll take the first TGV (high speed train) likely to leave, at 9h07 (0707gmt). (JOURNALIST ASKING QUESTION) Yes, it's the third day now and I think they do it on purpose. And we have a boat leaving tonight so we must leave today. If not then we lose our boat tickets." TRAVELLERS WITH LUGGAGE (SOUNDBITE) (French) TRAVELLER MICHEL SANTEL SAYING: "I never worked in such good conditions in my entire life. It's France, that's its charm." VARIOUS OF TRAVELLERS WAITING AT STATION TRAVELLERS ON PLATFORM
- Embargoed: 28th June 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France
- Country: France
- Topics: Business,Industry,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVAC193345KOQ8JCZEAG5DPAV04K
- Story Text: French rail strike drags on for a third day, hitting both local commuters and long-distance travellers.
A French railway strike entered its third day on Friday (June 13) causing disruptions in both local and national traffic.
The government said it feared one of the longest stoppages in years could drag into next week, disrupting end-of-school exams for thousands of students.
Rail passengers have seen services cut or cancelled since the strike began late on Tuesday over government plans to bring the SNCF rail operator and the RFF network under the roof of one holding company, while keeping their operations separate.
Though one tourist, Moi, said he was not upset by the disruption, most of the travellers told Reuters Television they didn't support the strike.
"I'm not angry, I'm visiting so it's ok," said Moi.
"We're trying to get down to the South for seven days and now we're not able to get there so we're really upset that this is going on. We don't understand why they will affect the train system which is so much revenue for the country," said tourist Camilla Hitschke.
"It's the third day now and I think they do it on purpose. And we have a boat leaving tonight so we must leave today. If not then we lose our boat tickets," said travellers Michele and Isabelle.
Unions fear the reform will hurt working conditions and want the two companies fully merged into a single company as they were before 1997. They also want the government to take on some 40 billion euros ($54.5 billion) in debt owed by the two firms.
One traveller, Michel Santel, said he had never had as comfortable conditions as the railworkers during his career.
"I never worked in such good conditions in my entire life. It's France, that's its charm," he said.
The government says the reform is needed to create a coherent structure for the railways as France and other European countries gear up for full liberalisation of the railways in coming years.
The SNCF rail operator said Eurostar links with Britain and Thalys links with Belgium and further north were expected to run normally, but other international links with countries such as Italy and Spain were still reduced, along with internal high-speed TV train services, down by as much as 50 percent on Friday.
On Thursday four in every 10 trains were running on standard inter-city routes and the SNCF said about 23 percent of staff were on strike - down from 28 percent on Wednesday. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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