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French rail strikes latest: Train services disrupted once again on Friday

The Local France
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French rail strikes latest: Train services disrupted once again on Friday

The French rail strikes may be running out of steam but they will continue on Friday and services will be badly disrupted.

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French rail chiefs have warned that train services on Friday will be disrupted due to the latest two-day strike by rail workers.

While services won't be as badly hit as on Monday, the last day of strike action which saw a big jump in the numbers joining the walk out, trains will be cancelled across the country while others will be delayed. 

SNCF says that just over half of high-speed TGV trains will be running while only two out of five TER and Intercité mainline rains will run.

RER trains in and around Paris will run around half of the usual services. Anyone taking the RER B to Charles de Gaulle airport will have to change trains at Gare du Nord.

However the availability of services depends on the regions and passengers are advised to check with SNCF whether their trains are running.

SNCF says the number of strikers taking part in Friday's industrial action will be far fewer than on Monday, which unions dubbed "a day without rail workers" in a bid to boost the ranks of strikers.

Only around half the number of workers who walked out on Monday will take part in Friday's strike, SNCF said.

"The conditions for rail traffic are among the best we will have had since the strike began," said the SNCF's Mathias Vicherat.

While the strike may be weakening SNCF have grown worried that those behind the industrial action are becoming more radicalised in a desperate attempt to keep up the pressure on the government.

On Monday the rail operator reported some 50 acts of deliberate sabotage including the cutting of overhead cables, which it blamed on the strikers.

The rolling two-day strikes began on April 3rd in protest against the French government's reform of the heavily indebted rail sector. They are due to run on until June 28th with both sides apparently refusing to budge.

President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly stated his determination to push the reforms through.

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