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France Now..strikes, etc

michele29

10+ Posts
Anyone in Paris, Nice, Marseilles NOW or other big city? Are the strikes causing serious problems?
We have a trip planned for early April to the above.
 
I've been wondering about this myself: one reported problem is the piles of trash in Paris. I don't know that much about how bad it really is, but there's this map of which arrondissements are affected: those in orange have trash collected by the city, and they're largely on strike, while those in black have it collected privately, so it isn't so bad.

Otherwise it seems that transportation isn't much affected, but try to keep up with the news about that and where demonstrations are happening.
 
From what I read, the crucial day is this coming Monday, or at least this coming week, when a no-confidence vote is planned, and there is a threat of defectors in Macron's slim majority. If the vote passes, the measures that Macron is trying to pass will not go through, and the strikes will probably end for the meantime. But if it doesn't pass, then it seems that disruptions will continue and get even worse. There is a lot of support for them in the public (about two-thirds, from what I have read).
The disruptions and strikes have already affected transportation (flights and public transport), electricity supply, garbage-collecting and gas stations. Most strikes are announced beforehand, but of course there are some that are started with very little or no notice.
For tourists, all this will probably mean that they will have to double-check whatever they do that includes transportation, or facilities that might be closed in support of the protests, in addition to seeing tons of uncollected garbage. Not the best of times for them. For the French, OTOH, it seems to be a defining point in recent history.
 
I'm watching the situation very carefully for the same reason. We leave for France on April 4. My main concern is CDG airport impacts (for arrival) and train disruption. I think the next 10 days will be revealing. Here is a website that lists every planned strike action as soon as something is confirmed, but the problem may be uncontrolled strike action:

 
I've lived in France for 30 years and if the past is any indicator the strikes will run out of steam by early April. Macron is going to be interviewed tonight on TV... we'll see if that calms the situation, or makes it worse!!
 
I've lived in France for 30 years and if the past is any indicator the strikes will run out of steam by early April. Macron is going to be interviewed tonight on TV... we'll see if that calms the situation, or makes it worse!!
Well, I must say Macron's interview (it was on Wednesday afternoon) went down like a ton of bricks. He got out the charts and proved it was necessary and said that he didn't mind being unpopular for doing something that had to be done, but it's not what the nation wanted to hear. Will they keep burning tires and blockading the refineries and not picking up the rubbish even when we get into spring break and Easter? Hard to imagine but if you are heading to France in the near future, be aware.
 
Appreciate the observations..I have, like many posters, been paying close attention to the news. What I was/ am looking for in an on- the-ground report from a tourist. On that note, a friend of mine left Tuesday for Paris. She promised to email her reactions. When I hear, I will post.



fingers crossed ….my trip isn’t until mid-April…I cancelled this trip twice because of Covid. Third time is a charm?!
 
We have also been watching what is happening. We arrive in mid April. We are not going to Paris at all and not booking train tickets. It will affect us if something causes our flight in to be changed and if it disrupts fuel supplies too much as we will be driving. We fly into Lyon and are taking two nights to drive across to our first gite in the Dordogne.
It is interesting how countries differ. Here in Australia you are not eligible for the age pension until 67 and then it is means tested and not everyone gets it. You can retire whenever you want but have to be able to support yourself until you are 67 and can get the pension if eligible.
 
Just spoke to my Parisian French teacher..lives there
He told me Life continues as usual, exaggerated reporting in foreign press, he chalked it up to cultural differences as striking is common in France.

HIS report..for what it’s worth.
 
New national strike day, April 6.

I’ve been watching the SNCF website this month to see if the daily midday TGV train we have tickets on in April gets cancelled. It’s been running on the strike days, so at least some of the long distance trains don’t get cancelled.

I read, but have not yet seen confirmation, that the trash collection union in Paris has stopped their walkout.
 
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I read, but have not yet seen confirmation, that the trash collection union in Paris has stopped their walkout.

Yes, it appears that the piles of garbage are being slowly reduced. One of the incinerators has reopened, but strikers are "filtering" arriving garbage trucks so that the operations are slowed down. Le Monde says that last week there were 10,500 tonnes of garbage in the street, yesterday it was down to about 6,600 tonnes.
 
Please note that airport/ flight actions are generally scheduled for days other than the national days of protest. For example, Lyon airport was not hit on March 28 but the DGAC (the civil aviation authority) ordered a precautionary 25% cancellation of flights on the weekend on March 24-26 and again on March 30 and 31 at specified airports, including LYS.
The DGAC Twitter page is a reliable source of information for air travelers.
 

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Anyone?!?
Paris…
Garbage strike seems to be over.
Demonstrations seem to be held every Tuesday. They have not affected my everyday life. Some dinners with friends from te suburb had to be rescheduled, as suburban trains became unreliable. My friends always laugh at me for never crossing the city's Périphérique limit. Recently I had to take a suburban train - the last time I had done so dated to more than 10 years ago - for a dinner party and was met with no hardship. I did not observe any slowdown at all.
Dunno about Nice or Marseille.
 
For example, Lyon airport was not hit on March 28 but the DGAC (the civil aviation authority) ordered a precautionary 25% cancellation of flights on the weekend on March 24-26 and again on March 30 and 31 at specified airports, including LYS.

My impression from afar is that there is a greater chance of disruption in the regional airports (including Orly) than there is at CDG. But it's impossible to predict very far in advance. These websites are probably the best source of information.
 
Paris…
Garbage strike seems to be over.
Demonstrations seem to be held every Tuesday. They have not affected my everyday life. Some dinners with friends from te suburb had to be rescheduled, as suburban trains became unreliable. My friends always laugh at me for never crossing the city's Périphérique limit. Recently I had to take a suburban train - the last time I had done so dated to more than 10 years ago - for a dinner party and was met with no hardship. I did not observe any slowdown at all.
Dunno about Nice or Marseille.
So Parigi, I know this is a travel site and not a political one, and I'm not wanting to put you on the spot, so feel free to ignore me. I'm just curious what does the impartial/thinking "woman/man on the street" (an American expression) think about Macron's move to raise the age to 64?
 

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