Travelers to France, beware: A widespread labor strike that began Monday is already disrupting train travel in France and is expected to spread Tuesday to airports, subways and buses too, the Associated Press is reporting.
Getting around by car may not be so easy either. Hundreds of street demonstrations are planned Tuesday throughout France, including Paris, by workers upset over President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plans to raise the retirement age, the AP said.
Some affected transportation systems include:
Air France: In an alert on its website, the airline said that although it expects to operate all its long-haul flights Tuesday, it will fly only 90% of its short- and medium-haul flights at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport and half its short and medium-haul flights at Paris-Orly airport. It said it would try to get passengers on other airlines.
“Please check your flight status before you travel to the airport,” the alert said, which you can do online.
Eurostar, which operates high-speed passenger rail between London and Paris and Brussels, said on its website that it planned to run its normal schedule Tuesday. But it said passengers who face strike-related difficulties getting to the station or connecting within France can postpone their trips free of charge by exchanging their Eurostar tickets. For details, check the website’s Q&A’s.
Eurostar also said that a labor strike would affect subway service in London on Monday and Tuesday. The Transport for London website has details.
SNCF: France’s rail network posted information on the strike on its website. You’ll need to know French to read it, though. According to the AP, the SNCF rail network is telling travelers to expect 40% of TGV fast trains to run and also 80% of Thalys trains to Belgium and the Netherlands.
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