Paris - Negotiations began Wednesday to resolve the French
transport strike that has disrupted national train traffic and public
transportation in the greater Paris area for eight days.
Although union leaders and the head of the RATP urban transport
system said that progress had been made during the first round of
talks, the strike will continue at least through Thursday, with
disruptions again foreseen for the Paris metro and the trains
connecting the capital with its suburbs.
'There is no reason, under these conditions, to prolong the
current strike,' RATP head Pierre Mongin told journalists following
the negotiations.
National train service will also be disrupted on Thursday, but
significantly more high-speed TGV and other long-haul and regional
trains will be in service than had been Wednesday, the national
railway network SNCF said.
Union officials said that rank-and-file members are to vote
Thursday on whether to continue the job action.
On Wednesday, a series of acts of sabotage committed overnight
added to the woes of French travellers and commuters.
According to Mireille Faugere, SNCF executive director for
passengers, unknown persons damaged cables used for the high-speed
TGV rail network and then set them on fire and also set fire to TGV
shunting points.
As a result, many of the TGV trains in operation were delayed for
up to three hours and had to be rerouted to normal tracks. The
service was already reduced by almost half because of the strike.
Unions and government officials firmly denounced the vandalism.
President Nicolas Sarkozy said, 'When unacceptable lines are crossed,
it must be denounced,' and asked Justice Minister Rachida Dati to
begin a vigorous investigation.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon told lawmakers in the National
Assembly that the vandalims were 'criminal acts' that would be
'severely punished.'
At issue in the strike is a planned pension reform that would do
away with specific pension privileges for about 500,000 workers in
the transport and energy sectors.
Late Tuesday, after a week of silence on the issue, Sarkozy said
the government would 'not give in or back down' on the reform. Polls
show that his firm stance is largely backed by the French public,
which views the pension privileges as unfair.
According to government estimates, the strike has so far cost the
French economy up to 400 million euros (about 590 million dollars).
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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