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Paris public transport on strike this thursday

The Paris public transport operator has warned that services are likely to be ‘heavily disrupted’ during the one-day strike on Thursday, and has advised people to change their plans and work from home if possible.

Thursday, November 10th, marks the third ‘inter-professional’ strike day in France but while the previous two saw minimal disruption, this one has won the backing of workers on Paris’ public transport network RATP.

The operator warned on Monday evening that services were likely to be ‘very heavily disrupted’ on the Metro and RER suburban trains, and ‘disrupted’ on bus and tram services.

RATP will produce a detailed strike timetable on Wednesday evening showing exactly which services are running, but at the moment it is advising all travellers to “alter their travel plans and work from home if possible”.

SNCF is not expecting major disruption on train journeys across France, so it is likely that the biggest effects will be in the capital.

The inter-professional strike days were called by the hardline CGT union in response to the rising cost of living. They have not attracted widespread support of other unions, meaning disruption has until now been kept to a minimum.

Unions have staged strikes across several sectors in recent weeks seeking pay hikes or increased hiring as spiralling energy costs feed into widespread inflation.

Union leaders are also hoping to step up pressure on President Emmanuel Macron as he prepares to revive a controversial pensions overhaul that would push back the official retirement age to 64 or 65, from 62 currently.

A similar attempt sparked massive protests two years ago, before the government abandoned the overhaul amid the Covid-10 outbreak.

Former prime minister Jean Castex, who is set to take over as RATP chief in the coming weeks, will face questioning from lawmakers in the Senate and the lower-house National Assembly this week.

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