French power workers stopped work today and commuters fearded chaos from a looming rail strike at the start of a week of protests intended to put pressure on the government over pay, conditions and reforms.
Workers at Electricite de France staged protests across the country and planned to lower power output in a 24-hour strike against privatisation of state utilities. Blackouts were not expected in French homes.
A 24-hour strike for more pay by railway workers from 8 p.m. was sure to have a larger impact on the public. Unions said only two in three high-speed TGV trains would run and only one in five trains would operate in parts of Paris.
Workers at the state-run SNCF railway, which employs 180,000 people, want a pay rise of up to 6 per cent and are angered by the company's plans to shed 3,500 jobs this year.
The strike also targets a demand by President Jacques Chirac to establish a minimum transport service during strikes, which the unions see as a curb to their right to down tools.
Strikes over pension reforms brought transport to a halt in Paris last year and the conservative government of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin is wary of the impact of protests before regional elections in March.