2 days ago
Rail strikes and taxi protests: What to expect in France next week
As the French summer holiday period draws near and families return home after the holiday weekend, unions representing both taxi drivers and rail workers have called for renewed strike action and mobilisation.
Here is what to expect next week;
Taxis
After long-running protests by taxi drivers, which were temporarily scaled down in the capital city during negotiations with French government officials, the five main taxi federations have announced plans to relaunch their mobilisation against changes to medical transport fares from
Monday, June 9th
.
Although exact details of their tactics have not yet been revealed, previous taxi protests have involved rolling blockades of city ring roads, as well as blockades at airports and transport hubs.
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The federations reportedly decided to call for more protest action following a tense meeting with the Ministry of Healh.
"We're being taken for fools by the government advisers. They have no intention of changing their methods or the rates they impose on us," Bernard Crébassa, the head of the National Federation of taxi drivers, told
RMC
.
Now, taxi federations are calling on drivers to blockade Bercy, the French finance ministry, starting the morning of
Wednesday, June 11th.
Trains
The union CGT has called on ticket inspectors to walk out on
Wednesday, June 11th
, but so far no other French rail unions have joined in calls for strike action on this day.
So far, CGT's strikes have not been hugely disruptive, and they have primarily led to minor disruption on local and regional lines, rather than high-speed TGV and Intercités trains.
The French rail union Sud-Rail also announced on Wednesday that they had filed a strike notice beginning on
Thursday, June 12th
at 7pm, which will last until Monday, September 1st at 8am.
READ MORE:
French rail union files strike notice for entire summer
The strike notice does not mean a constant three-month strike, but it means that Sud-Rail can call a strike at short notice at any time within that period.
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Even with a strike notice in place, French rail workers must declare their intention to strike at least 48 hours in advance.
A source from Sud-Rail told France Inter that they intended to give the public five days' notice before the start of strike days.
Rail workers are pushing for pay and bonus increases, as well as for better working conditions for conductors, many of whom complain that issues with scheduling have deteriorated their working conditions.
