PARIS: France’s state railways have lost around €100 million ($123 million) since a series of strikes began on April 3, the chairman of the SNCF rail service said on Monday as a third wave of stoppages slashed services.
Labor unions show no sign of faltering in their test of President Emmanuel Macron’s resolve to shake up the domestic rail monopoly and deliver a raft of reforms he says are vital to economic modernization.
Guillaume Pepy, the chief of SNCF, denounced the stoppages, which cut the number of high-speed TGV trains on Monday to one in five.
Service fell about 65 percent in the Paris region, where two million commuters rely on trains each day. Three in four international trains were operating. Reuters
All unions back the strike, which is set to run until the end of June, with two days of strikes every five days. There was also a day of disruption on March 22, when railworkers joined a strike by civil servants. Reuters
French rail strikes have cost 100 million euros, operator says
Updated 10 April 2018
French rail strikes have cost 100 million euros, operator says
- Service fell about 65 percent in the Paris region
- Three in four international trains were operating
