January 19 Strike: a Day of Chaos in Transportation

Unions are strongly opposed to pension reform. The strike on January 19 has significant consequences on public transportation, including the heavily disrupted Paris subway.

Clément Beaune, the delegated Minister for Transport, was clear: the strike movement against the pension reform will heavily disrupt public transport. “It will be a difficult day, undeniably. A rough Thursday, with significant disruptions,” he admitted this morning on France 2. “For those who can, any measures that allow for delaying or advancing a trip, working from home when possible, are welcome.”

A strong union offensive “to make the government yield”

Although it is still too early to determine the full impact of the strike on transportation, all signs point to a high level of participation. On the SNCF side, the union coalition stated that it completely disagrees with the government’s plan. The CGT, UNSA-Ferroviary, SUD-Rail, and CFDT declare their intention to “build the strongest union offensive possible to make the government yield.” Traffic forecasts will be communicated at least 24 hours before the strike begins.

At RATP, unions also aim to force the government to back down through massive mobilization. As a result, Île-de-France commuters will likely face serious disruptions. RATP announced the impacted metro lines, tramways, and RER lines, with only lines 1 and 14 operating continuously, while lines 8, 10, and 11 are completely closed:

The pension reform strike will also be followed in the aviation sector. It will additionally have repercussions on the operations of some refineries. Fearing a new fuel shortage, some French are already rushing to gas stations. Again, the extent of the movement is difficult to measure at this stage. The government naturally fears an October 2022 scenario, which forced many motorists to temporarily abandon their cars due to fuel shortages.

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