Protests and flight cancellations: What to expect from Tuesday’s French pension strike

2023-06-06 07:57:05

After a break of several weeks, unions called for a day of strikes and demos on Tuesday, June 6th as they continue to protest over French pension reform.

The latest day of action was called ahead of an attempt in parliament on Thursday to have the pension reform bill – which has already been signed into law – cancelled.

Since the beginning of the strike action in January the one-day protests have become gradually less disruptive and in many parts of France life will continue as normal on Tuesday.

However, there is some disruption expected;

Flights – worst affected are flights, due to air traffic controllers walking out. The French civil aviation authority has ordered airlines to cancel 33 percent of flights in and out of Paris Orly airport, and 20 percent of flights in and out of Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Nantes.

Flights passing over France could also be affected, and the disruption is set to run from Monday evening until 6am on Wednesday, with the possibility of knock-on disruption later in the week. Anyone with a flight booked is advised to contact their airline.

Trains – although some railworkers are walking out, French rail operator SNCF says services will be only “lightly disrupted”, with 9 in 10 trains expected to run as normal.

Paris public transport – the capital’s Metro, bus and tram services will run as normal, but there will be some disruption to the suburban rail services. On RER lines C, D and H three in four of the normal services will be running. RER B – which connects Paris to its two airports – is expected to run as normal.

Schools – some teachers will also walk out, leading to class or school closures. The strikes action will be concentrated on college and high schoolalthough some primary schools will also be affected.

Demos – demos and marches will once again take place, with around 250 actions planned in towns and cities around the country. Organisers are expecting a turnout of around 400,000 – 600,000 people, including 40,000 – 70,000 in Paris.

In Paris, the march will depart from the Esplanade des Invalides at 2pm, going toward Place d’Italie.

France’s interior minister, Gérald Darmanin announced that about 11,000 police officers and gendarmes would be mobilised throughout the country, with 4,000 deployed in Paris.

You can keep up to date with all the latest strike announcements in our strike section HERE.