The uninterrupted strike of metro and railway workers in France makes life difficult for workers. Even so, 62% support the strike against pension reform.
As soon as he sees the closed doors of the metro station and suburbs of Denfert-Rochereau, in the south of Paris, Ibrahim's gesture is distorted. Another day, and already 13, that the continued strike of the subway and railway workers against the pension reform of the Government of Emmanuel Macron forces him to manage to get home after a long working day to which, by the way, it also cost him his time to arrive on time. Normally, the suburban train would take you in just half an hour to your home in Le Blanc-Mesnil, on the outskirts of the French capital. Due to the strike, it has taken eight hours to make the journey. "It would take less to get to Casablanca than to my job!" Laments this baker of Moroccan origin. Ibrahim, that this Tuesday when it was held in FranceThe third day of national demonstrations for retirement left home at three in the morning to arrive on time for work, he is so tired that he even thinks of taking a taxi to be part of the way back. Although the joke starts to come out. "I have already spent 150 euros in taxis in a few days, and my salary is 1,500," he says.
While Ibrahim begins to look for transport alternatives in an application on his phone - some such as Citymapper have been the first day of strike and demonstrations since December 5 , warning of the “archi-mega-maxi-strike” that he has put in check the public transport in French cities such as Paris or Bordeaux— Aitor and Claudia run to catch the first of the three buses that they hope to catch to arrive on time to the airport and not lose their flight without having to use a taxi, which no longer gives them the budget for so much. With the capital subway practically paralyzed these days, the pre-Christmas romantic getaway of this couple of Asturian twenties has become a small but expensive nightmare. “We are busted. Yesterday [on Monday] we toured the entire city on foot, ”says Aitor. Although Paris is "very handsome and there is much to see," Claudia acknowledges that if she had known that it would be so difficult to move around the city because of the strike, she would not have come. “I do not recommend it because it is a mess. In addition, the cheapest hotels are far away. ” And there is almost no way to get, by public transport, to tourist points such as the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower, closed anyway on Tuesday by the strike. And to Eurodisney? "Another nightmare," they respond in unison.
What for tourists is a punctual inconvenience, for many Parisians it has become an ongoing problem with an uncertain end, given that neither unions nor the Government seem willing to give their arm to twist. The conversations in the chat groups these days to have dinner or a drink before the holidays do not focus on which is the most fashionable place but what place is closest to everyone in case you have to go or return - or both — walking. Walking and alternative transport such as bicycle or electric scootersThey have become the option for many who cannot opt for telecommuting or who need to move to another point in the city for any reason. And with the most intensive use of bikes and scooters, so many that overflow the bike lanes and occupy the normal streets in tense competition with cars and motorcycles, the accident rate has also skyrocketed: up to 40% only in Paris between 5 and 5 December 14, according to Le Parisien .
Shops and hotels despair at the prospect of a new black December, after which they suffered last year because of the protests of the yellow vests . Only the hotel and restaurant activity has already suffered a fall of between 30 and 50%.
Half of the 16 subway lines have been fully closed on Tuesday, the other eight had minimal services, and only 30% of buses have circulated with difficulty amid endless traffic jams. 75% of train drivers went on strike for this crucial day, so that in the few that circulated between Paris and its suburbs there was not even a pin.
Despite the inconvenience, Milena, a saleswoman who these days depends on the Vélib shared bicycle service to cover the eight kilometers that separate her home from work, says she supports the strikers. "It's a fair protest," he says. It's not the only one. 62% of the French approve the social movement, according to the Harris Interactive barometer published on Tuesday by the RTL station. Of course, that was before it was known that only between 50% and 60% of trains will be guaranteed this first Christmas holiday weekend. If the support for the strike is high, those who support a “truce for Christmas” in the protests, as requested by the Government, are even more: 69% of French people want transport stoppages to be suspended these days in that many expect to be able to spend the holidays with theirs.
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