What to expect from Thursday's French pension strike
Thursday, February 16th, marks the fifth day of strikes and protests in the ongoing battle between the French government and unions over pension reform. From planes and trains to schools - here's what to expect.
The fifth day of ‘mass mobilisation’ in the ongoing battle against pension reform is scheduled for Thursday, February 16th - it is supported by all eight French trades union federations, which means that support is likely to be high and disruption severe on certain services.
It comes as French lawmakers continue to debate the bill for the controversial reform of the French pension system, including raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.
5 minutes to understand French pension reform
Workers in essential services such as transport must declare their intention to strike 48 hours in advance, allowing transport operators to produce strike timetables, which are usually released 24 hours in advance.
We will update this story as new information is released.
Trains and transport
The four major unions representing rail workers - SUD Rail, CGT Cheminots, CFDT Cheminots, and UNSA Ferroviaire - published a joint statement on Friday calling on workers to strike.
Unions said in their statement that they hoped workers would "broaden and amplify mobilisation".
Rail operator SNCF said it expects to run 4 in 5 of the normal high-speed TGV services, half the normal Intercité services, and half the normal services on local TER routes.
In the north, east, and western regions, high-speed trains will run 'quasi-normally', but more disruption is expected in the south east where about two in three trains will run.
City public transport
In Paris, the main unions representing transport workers with the city's RATP public transport network have called for strikes and demonstrations on Thursday. This is ahead of March 7th, when the unions have called a "total and renewable strike", which is expected to run throughout the month of March.
You can find more specific information for expected disruption in Paris HERE.
READ MORE: ‘Quasi normal’ – What effects will the Thursday pension strike have on Paris?
However on Tuesday evening RATP said it expected services to be 'normal or quasi-normal', with the exception of RER B which will run two in three of its normal services. A detailed timetable will be published on Wednesday evening.
In Nice there will be no tram services on lines L1, L2 and L3. Additionally, bus services will be heavily disrupted with several lines not operating at all. According to Nice-Matin, parking will be free on the roads on Thursday.
READ MORE: Grève illimitée or générale: 12 bits of French strike vocab you need to know
Other cities, like Lyon and Marseille, have experienced significant disruptions to public transport services in recent days of action, and traffic forecasts should be available in the coming hours.
Marseille public transport authorities have said that there may be disruptions Thursday, particularly consisting of delays on the two metro lines and the tramways, but these services will operate. Most buses will run as well.
Air travel
Ahead of possible strike action by air traffic controllers, France's Civil Aviation Authority (the DGAC) said on Wednesday that they would preemptively cancel 30 percent of the flights operating out of Paris-Orly airport. This time, air traffic will also be disrupted in other airports across France. The DGAC also asked airlines to cancel 20 percent of flights operating via airports in Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon, Montpellier and Nantes.
On Saturday, half of flights arriving and departing from the Paris-Orly airport experienced delays and disruptions due to an unplanned strike on behalf of air traffic controllers.
The action led the DGAC to reduce the number of flights departing from Paris-Orly by 50 percent on Saturday. Other disruptions were also prevalent at the Toulouse-Blagnac airport, which was forced to close Saturday evening at 8pm.
Ports
The CGT union representing ports and docks workers have also called for a 24-hour work stoppage on February 16th.
Typically strike action in this sector impacts commercial ports rather than ferry ports.
Schools
The fifth day of mobilisation will take place amid school holidays for zones A and B, meaning it will primarily impact students and teachers in Corsica and in zone C (which represents the school districts of Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse and Versailles), who are not yet on holiday.
The CGT-Education and FSU-SNUipp unions have called on teachers to walk out on Thursday, which is likely to lead to some school or class closures.
Additionally, some school districts have already begun warning that disruption may occur on Thursday, such as Clichy in Hauts-de-Seine and Massy in Essonne.
Ski lifts
The two unions that represent more than 90 percent of workers in ski resorts have also called an ‘unlimited’ strike which began on January 31st, meaning further actions could come in the month of February. As of Tuesday morning, no specific actions had been called for ski resort and seasonal workers for Thursday.
Petrol stations
Oil refinery workers have walked out across the country during previous days of mobilisation.
It is likely these workers will be called to strike as well on Thursday, but as of Tuesday morning no official communications by unions representing oil refinery workers specified plans for February 16th.
Energy and electricity
Unions representing workers in the energy sector have called for walkouts on February 16th, citing the fact that energy production was reduced by 4,500 during the action on February 7th.
Demos
More than 200 demos are planned across the country for Thursday.
In Paris, Saturday's mobilisation saw at least 93,000 people take to the streets, in comparison to the 57,000 who mobilised on Tuesday, February 7th.
The Paris procession will begin at the Place de Bastille at 2pm and it will head to Place de l'Italie, where marchers will arrive at around 5pm. Previous marches have been largely peaceful, but expect some road closures around the route of the demo.
In Rennes, the march will start at 11am at the Place de Bretagne; in Lille it will start at 2pm at the Porte de Paris; in Lyon it will also begin at 2pm in front of the Manufacture des Tabacs; and in Nantes there will be a torchlight demonstration starting at 6:30pm at the "Miroir d'eau".
What's next?
After Thursday's action, unions have called for another one-day strike on March 7th. In Paris, the strike on public transport networks will begin on March 7th and will be 'renewable', so disruption in the capital is likely to be ongoing.
READ MORE: Calendar: The latest French pension strike dates to remember
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The fifth day of ‘mass mobilisation’ in the ongoing battle against pension reform is scheduled for Thursday, February 16th - it is supported by all eight French trades union federations, which means that support is likely to be high and disruption severe on certain services.
It comes as French lawmakers continue to debate the bill for the controversial reform of the French pension system, including raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.
5 minutes to understand French pension reform
Workers in essential services such as transport must declare their intention to strike 48 hours in advance, allowing transport operators to produce strike timetables, which are usually released 24 hours in advance.
We will update this story as new information is released.
Trains and transport
The four major unions representing rail workers - SUD Rail, CGT Cheminots, CFDT Cheminots, and UNSA Ferroviaire - published a joint statement on Friday calling on workers to strike.
Unions said in their statement that they hoped workers would "broaden and amplify mobilisation".
Rail operator SNCF said it expects to run 4 in 5 of the normal high-speed TGV services, half the normal Intercité services, and half the normal services on local TER routes.
In the north, east, and western regions, high-speed trains will run 'quasi-normally', but more disruption is expected in the south east where about two in three trains will run.
City public transport
In Paris, the main unions representing transport workers with the city's RATP public transport network have called for strikes and demonstrations on Thursday. This is ahead of March 7th, when the unions have called a "total and renewable strike", which is expected to run throughout the month of March.
You can find more specific information for expected disruption in Paris HERE.
READ MORE: ‘Quasi normal’ – What effects will the Thursday pension strike have on Paris?
However on Tuesday evening RATP said it expected services to be 'normal or quasi-normal', with the exception of RER B which will run two in three of its normal services. A detailed timetable will be published on Wednesday evening.
In Nice there will be no tram services on lines L1, L2 and L3. Additionally, bus services will be heavily disrupted with several lines not operating at all. According to Nice-Matin, parking will be free on the roads on Thursday.
READ MORE: Grève illimitée or générale: 12 bits of French strike vocab you need to know
Other cities, like Lyon and Marseille, have experienced significant disruptions to public transport services in recent days of action, and traffic forecasts should be available in the coming hours.
Marseille public transport authorities have said that there may be disruptions Thursday, particularly consisting of delays on the two metro lines and the tramways, but these services will operate. Most buses will run as well.
Air travel
Ahead of possible strike action by air traffic controllers, France's Civil Aviation Authority (the DGAC) said on Wednesday that they would preemptively cancel 30 percent of the flights operating out of Paris-Orly airport. This time, air traffic will also be disrupted in other airports across France. The DGAC also asked airlines to cancel 20 percent of flights operating via airports in Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon, Montpellier and Nantes.
On Saturday, half of flights arriving and departing from the Paris-Orly airport experienced delays and disruptions due to an unplanned strike on behalf of air traffic controllers.
The action led the DGAC to reduce the number of flights departing from Paris-Orly by 50 percent on Saturday. Other disruptions were also prevalent at the Toulouse-Blagnac airport, which was forced to close Saturday evening at 8pm.
Ports
The CGT union representing ports and docks workers have also called for a 24-hour work stoppage on February 16th.
Typically strike action in this sector impacts commercial ports rather than ferry ports.
Schools
The fifth day of mobilisation will take place amid school holidays for zones A and B, meaning it will primarily impact students and teachers in Corsica and in zone C (which represents the school districts of Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse and Versailles), who are not yet on holiday.
The CGT-Education and FSU-SNUipp unions have called on teachers to walk out on Thursday, which is likely to lead to some school or class closures.
Additionally, some school districts have already begun warning that disruption may occur on Thursday, such as Clichy in Hauts-de-Seine and Massy in Essonne.
Ski lifts
The two unions that represent more than 90 percent of workers in ski resorts have also called an ‘unlimited’ strike which began on January 31st, meaning further actions could come in the month of February. As of Tuesday morning, no specific actions had been called for ski resort and seasonal workers for Thursday.
Petrol stations
Oil refinery workers have walked out across the country during previous days of mobilisation.
It is likely these workers will be called to strike as well on Thursday, but as of Tuesday morning no official communications by unions representing oil refinery workers specified plans for February 16th.
Energy and electricity
Unions representing workers in the energy sector have called for walkouts on February 16th, citing the fact that energy production was reduced by 4,500 during the action on February 7th.
Demos
More than 200 demos are planned across the country for Thursday.
In Paris, Saturday's mobilisation saw at least 93,000 people take to the streets, in comparison to the 57,000 who mobilised on Tuesday, February 7th.
The Paris procession will begin at the Place de Bastille at 2pm and it will head to Place de l'Italie, where marchers will arrive at around 5pm. Previous marches have been largely peaceful, but expect some road closures around the route of the demo.
In Rennes, the march will start at 11am at the Place de Bretagne; in Lille it will start at 2pm at the Porte de Paris; in Lyon it will also begin at 2pm in front of the Manufacture des Tabacs; and in Nantes there will be a torchlight demonstration starting at 6:30pm at the "Miroir d'eau".
What's next?
After Thursday's action, unions have called for another one-day strike on March 7th. In Paris, the strike on public transport networks will begin on March 7th and will be 'renewable', so disruption in the capital is likely to be ongoing.
READ MORE: Calendar: The latest French pension strike dates to remember
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