Strikes, demos and a court ruling: What to expect from pension protests in France this week
As France prepares for a 12th day of mobilisation against pension reform, ahead of the decision on the law's constitutionality by the Constitutional Court, here is what to expect in terms of strikes, demos and other protests this week.
The bitterly-contested pension reform bill has now completed its journey through the French parliament, but unions are continuing the fight ahead of the upcoming decision from France's Constitutional Court on whether the reform is constitutional.
The decision is set to be announced on Friday, which means that that strikes and demos will continue until at least this date. You can find the latest strikes news in our strike section HERE, and keep up to date with our strike calendar HERE.
Here's a look at what to expect this week in France;
UK travel
After a busy holiday weekend at the port of Dover, on Tuesday morning traffic was reported to be "free flowing into the port".
#TrafficAndWeather for #PortOfDover at 06:00hrs: Sea conditions in the Channel are moderate with a West Sou Westerly fresh breeze, force 5. Visibility is good. Traffic is free flowing into the Port.
— Port of Dover Travel (@PoD_travelnews) April 11, 2023
In previous days leading up to the Easter holidays, there were long delays at the port, especially for coach parties. This was unrelated to the French strikes - a combination of peak school trip travel period and the lengthier passport control checks required since Brexit.
Tuesday and Wednesday
Some sporadic disruption may take place ahead of the big strike day on Thursday.
Rolling strikes in certain sectors, such as at oil refineries, will likely continue to impact fuel supplies in France. As of Tuesday, about 9.7 percent of the country's fuel stations were short at least one type of fuel, and 25 of France's 96 mainland départements had at least 10 percent of their stations experiencing some level of shortage.
In recent days, the Paris region has been most impacted when compared with other parts of France. In the city of Paris, 44.9 percent of filling stations were missing at least one type of fuel, and in Val-de-Marne, just outside Paris, that figure rose to 61.4 percent, with 8.4 percent of stations running completely dry.
The centre-west of the country was also affected, namely the Indre-et-Loire département where 41.8 percent of stations were experiencing some level of shortage.
Other parts of France, such as the south-west and north-east have been less impacted by fuel shortages, and some départements in those regions were not experiencing any shortages as of Tuesday.
You can find the government's fuel shortages map, updated in real time, HERE.
As of Tuesday morning, there had not been any announcements about flight cancellations at French airports on Wednesday.
Thursday
French unions have called for a 12th day of mobilisation and cross-sector walkouts on Thursday. This is the same date that waste collectors in Paris are set to begin a new rolling waste strike in the nation's capital.
Protests will take place across the country, from small towns to large cities. The route for the March in Paris has not yet been announced. Once announced, visitors are advised to check the route of the demos (which usually take place in the afternoon and early evening) and avoid the area.
Recent strike days have seen public transport services less affected - during strike action on April 6th, city public transport ran with little disruption in Paris, with only three metro lines affected while buses and trams ran normally.
As for high-speed rail services with SNCF, three out of four TGV and Ouigo budget line trains ran during the last day of action.
Precise strike timetables become available at 5pm on the day before. If your SNCF TGV train is cancelled due to a strike, you should be informed at least 48 hours in advance, either by SMS or email. Prior to leaving for the train station, you should check the status of your train with SNCF Connect HERE.
As of Tuesday, Eurostar had not announced any cancellations or disruptions to its services for Thursday. During recent strike days, minimal disruption has been seen on international services, like Thalys and Eurostar. For example, during the most recent strike day, Eurostar cancelled two trains - one departing from London and one departing from Paris.
Flight cancellations and delays have not yet been announced, but in the past, French air traffic controllers have preemptively cancelled around 20 percent of domestic flights at certain French airports, such as Orly-Paris, Marseille-Provence, Bordeaux, and Nantes airports.
On previous strike days, public monuments, landmarks and museums - such as the Versailles Palace and Gardens and the Louvre museum - have closed. Be sure to check online with their website on Thursday morning.
READ MORE: 9 of the best activities to do in Paris on strike days
'Wild card' actions have also taken place during other days of mobilisation in France, such as blocking the entry and exit for Terminal 1 at the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, or blocking certain exits or entry points to city ring roads, particularly in the early hours of the morning on strike days.
Typically, traffic around major cities has increased on strike days. If you plan to drive in the Paris region on Thursday, you can consult the real-time traffic website Sytadin - link HERE.
Friday
On Friday, France's Constitutional Court will decide on the constitutionality of pension reform. This will mark an important turning point in the pensions battle in France, so it is possible sporadic actions or protests may take place, depending on the ruling.
Friday will also mark the start of spring school holidays for Zone B, which includes Aix-Marseille, Nice and Strasbourg, so traffic on French roads may be higher than usual.
Saturday and Sunday
There have not been any calls for mobilisation over the weekend, but rolling strikes could continue to affect services like transport, trains, and access to fuel. Waste may begin to pile up again in the capital, as Paris waste collectors will have started another rolling strike on Friday.
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The bitterly-contested pension reform bill has now completed its journey through the French parliament, but unions are continuing the fight ahead of the upcoming decision from France's Constitutional Court on whether the reform is constitutional.
The decision is set to be announced on Friday, which means that that strikes and demos will continue until at least this date. You can find the latest strikes news in our strike section HERE, and keep up to date with our strike calendar HERE.
Here's a look at what to expect this week in France;
UK travel
After a busy holiday weekend at the port of Dover, on Tuesday morning traffic was reported to be "free flowing into the port".
#TrafficAndWeather for #PortOfDover at 06:00hrs: Sea conditions in the Channel are moderate with a West Sou Westerly fresh breeze, force 5. Visibility is good. Traffic is free flowing into the Port.
— Port of Dover Travel (@PoD_travelnews) April 11, 2023
In previous days leading up to the Easter holidays, there were long delays at the port, especially for coach parties. This was unrelated to the French strikes - a combination of peak school trip travel period and the lengthier passport control checks required since Brexit.
Tuesday and Wednesday
Some sporadic disruption may take place ahead of the big strike day on Thursday.
Rolling strikes in certain sectors, such as at oil refineries, will likely continue to impact fuel supplies in France. As of Tuesday, about 9.7 percent of the country's fuel stations were short at least one type of fuel, and 25 of France's 96 mainland départements had at least 10 percent of their stations experiencing some level of shortage.
In recent days, the Paris region has been most impacted when compared with other parts of France. In the city of Paris, 44.9 percent of filling stations were missing at least one type of fuel, and in Val-de-Marne, just outside Paris, that figure rose to 61.4 percent, with 8.4 percent of stations running completely dry.
The centre-west of the country was also affected, namely the Indre-et-Loire département where 41.8 percent of stations were experiencing some level of shortage.
Other parts of France, such as the south-west and north-east have been less impacted by fuel shortages, and some départements in those regions were not experiencing any shortages as of Tuesday.
You can find the government's fuel shortages map, updated in real time, HERE.
As of Tuesday morning, there had not been any announcements about flight cancellations at French airports on Wednesday.
Thursday
French unions have called for a 12th day of mobilisation and cross-sector walkouts on Thursday. This is the same date that waste collectors in Paris are set to begin a new rolling waste strike in the nation's capital.
Protests will take place across the country, from small towns to large cities. The route for the March in Paris has not yet been announced. Once announced, visitors are advised to check the route of the demos (which usually take place in the afternoon and early evening) and avoid the area.
Recent strike days have seen public transport services less affected - during strike action on April 6th, city public transport ran with little disruption in Paris, with only three metro lines affected while buses and trams ran normally.
As for high-speed rail services with SNCF, three out of four TGV and Ouigo budget line trains ran during the last day of action.
Precise strike timetables become available at 5pm on the day before. If your SNCF TGV train is cancelled due to a strike, you should be informed at least 48 hours in advance, either by SMS or email. Prior to leaving for the train station, you should check the status of your train with SNCF Connect HERE.
As of Tuesday, Eurostar had not announced any cancellations or disruptions to its services for Thursday. During recent strike days, minimal disruption has been seen on international services, like Thalys and Eurostar. For example, during the most recent strike day, Eurostar cancelled two trains - one departing from London and one departing from Paris.
Flight cancellations and delays have not yet been announced, but in the past, French air traffic controllers have preemptively cancelled around 20 percent of domestic flights at certain French airports, such as Orly-Paris, Marseille-Provence, Bordeaux, and Nantes airports.
On previous strike days, public monuments, landmarks and museums - such as the Versailles Palace and Gardens and the Louvre museum - have closed. Be sure to check online with their website on Thursday morning.
READ MORE: 9 of the best activities to do in Paris on strike days
'Wild card' actions have also taken place during other days of mobilisation in France, such as blocking the entry and exit for Terminal 1 at the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, or blocking certain exits or entry points to city ring roads, particularly in the early hours of the morning on strike days.
Typically, traffic around major cities has increased on strike days. If you plan to drive in the Paris region on Thursday, you can consult the real-time traffic website Sytadin - link HERE.
Friday
On Friday, France's Constitutional Court will decide on the constitutionality of pension reform. This will mark an important turning point in the pensions battle in France, so it is possible sporadic actions or protests may take place, depending on the ruling.
Friday will also mark the start of spring school holidays for Zone B, which includes Aix-Marseille, Nice and Strasbourg, so traffic on French roads may be higher than usual.
Saturday and Sunday
There have not been any calls for mobilisation over the weekend, but rolling strikes could continue to affect services like transport, trains, and access to fuel. Waste may begin to pile up again in the capital, as Paris waste collectors will have started another rolling strike on Friday.
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