NO RELIEF IN SIGHT French strikes and slowdowns cause transportation problems

Posted on 06/01/2016 | About France

The labour situation in France is troublesome for the upcoming Euro 2016 kick-off on June 10, but not less so for current visitors who are finding themselves caught in strikes by union members of the transportation and energy industries.

Union workers are vehemently opposed to French President François Hollande’s new labour reforms making it easier for employers to hire and fire staff to address the country’s unemployment rate of 10 percent. According to the SNCF national rail authority, about 40 percent of France's high-speed trains and more than half of regional trains are cancelled. Eurostar trains to London are expected to run normally, however, though more than half of trains to Spain and Italy are affected. Commuter trains serving Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport are also being impacted by the strike. Three of the four unions representing workers at SNCF called for a strike Wednesday. Unions are threatening to stay off the job through the start of the European Championship soccer tournament next week.

And it’s not just the trains. Some of the problems involve: • Air France pilots voted on Monday to go on strike, although a date has not been set yet. • Nationwide rail strikes began on Tuesday.

• Metro services will be reduced on Thursday with bus drivers joining the walk-out. • Air traffic controllers plan to go on strike for the coming weekend. • Empty fuel pumps are leaving tourists stranded.

• Some gas stations have closed, but most are limiting purchases to 20 litres, and angry union workers have blockaded other locations. • Tourists from the UK report line-ups 100 cars long. Bob Atkinson is a travel expert at TravelSupermarket. He told MailOnline Travel, “Our advice if travelling through France at present is to ensure that you fill the tank before leaving the UK or before entering France from another EU country and top up wherever you can to ensure that you do not run short of fuel.”

The head of French trade association GNI said that tourism had been "asphyxiated" by the strikes, hoteliers have reported a 30 percent drop in recent weeks, and French travel booking website Weekendesk said there was a 28 percent drop over this weekend alone. Laurent Duc, the head of French hoteliers union UMIH, described cancellations by tourists as "a big problem.” "Reservations are not taking off because of the strike angst. People can see burning cars and protests on television at the moment and it's definitely not the best advertisement for France" Duc told Frances English news publication The Local.

France is still in a State of Emergency following last year’s terrorist attack, where 150 people were killed.