France: Strikes set to bring travel misery

The last taxi drivers strike saw people having to walk to airports. Photo: AFP

France: Strikes set to bring travel misery

Tuesday could be a miserable day to travel, well, anywhere in France, given that taxi drivers, farmers, air-traffic controllers and civil servants are all set to strike.


Taxi drivers are set to protest once again over what they see as unfair competition from private hire cabs and the government’s inability to enforce laws designed to protect their industry.

The taxi protests could see the roads around airports blocked from early Tuesday morning as well as part of the the péripherique ring road around Paris.

Taxi union chiefs have called for the protest to be held peacefully, after similar protests in June last year spiralled into violence.

“A violent protest would be counter-productive,” said Thierry Guichard, head of the Taxis de France collective.

On the eve of the strike French cabbies arch enemy Uber made what was seen as a provocative move by offering to open up their platform to taxi drivers, rather than just their own Uber drivers.

And air traffic controllers are also due to strike, which could impact on up to 50 percent of flights according to reports.

Airlines have not yet released information on the flights that will be affected or indeed how many, but passengers are advised to keep an eye on their websites.

Farmers who have been blockading roads in the west  of the country in protest against falling prices could also cause further disruption if they decide to continue their action.

The strike has been called by public service unions as a “day of action” against a loss of spending power and cuts to jobs.

Civil servants are fed up with a pay freeze that has been imposed on them and complain that they have effectively seen their wages cut over the years.

Schools, hospitals and municipal creches will all be affected.

Several protests are scheduled in the Paris region, including one by teachers.