Strike on Tuesday March 7: RATP, SNCF, schools… What to expect

STRIKE – “France at a standstill” is today. Are you prepared for this new day of mobilization against the pension reform, this Tuesday, March 7? Minister Delegate for Transport Clément Beaune warned that there “will be very great difficulties” on this day, due to the will of the unions to ” put France on hold “. He thus invited the French who can to favor telework as much as possible, since transport, among other things, will be greatly disrupted.

Elisabeth Borne said she regretted that this sixth day of mobilization penalized more particularly “the most modest”, according to her. “A France at a standstill”as envisaged by all the trade unions, “It’s obviously bad for our fellow citizens” et “the first penalized, when we have strikes, are the most modest French people”she said on France 5.

Territorial intelligence estimates at between 1.1 and 1.4 million, the number of demonstrators in France this Tuesday, according to a note consulted by BFMTV et LCI. In Paris, between 60,000 and 90,000 demonstrators are expected to hit the pavement for this new day of strike. And outside the capital, it is in Nantes that the mobilization should be the strongest, with 32,500 demonstrators expected, against 30,000 in Lyon and Toulouse. 20,000 people are also expected from Marseille, Grenoble, Clermont-Ferrand or Rennes.

Whether it’s transportation, the energy sector, or schools, here’s what you can expect today.

Big disruptions at the SNCF

The traffic will be severe disruption on all lines operated by SNCF Voyageurs »with one train in five on average for the TGV Inoui and Ouigo, according to the SNCF.

In detail, traffic will be particularly impacted on the North, East and Atlantic axes with one train in five on average (one train in two on the Paris-Lille axis). On the South-East axis, only one in three TGVs will run. Concerning the province-province journeys, it will only be necessary to count on 1 train out of 10.

Eurostar and Thalys are also affected by disruptions with two out of three trains on average.

No need to count on it since there will be “ no traffic”, night and day. With the exception of one Paris-Brive trip and two Paris-Clermont round trips.

One in five trains will run in France this Tuesday on the TER network.

One train in three will run on railway lines H, K, U, one train in five on lines J, L, N, R, and one train in ten on line P.

Do not rely too much on the RATP

Lines 1 and 14 will operate normally, thanks to their automation. On the other hand, the RATP warns of the risk of saturation of these two lines as a result.

It will take on average one train out of two at peak times and one train out of three at off-peak times on the RER A. The last passages at Châtelet are scheduled around 9 p.m.

There will also be one train out of two at peak times and one train out of three at off-peak hours for the RER B. At the end of service, the last stop at Châtelet is scheduled for 9:52 p.m. A change of train will be necessary at Gare du Nord.

There will be one in five trains on RER C and D, and one in ten on RER E.

On average, three out of four buses will circulate on the entire network. Noctilien traffic is announced as normal.

On average, three out of four trains will run on the entire network.

To note : SNCF and RATP are also already announcing a very disrupted day for Wednesday March 8.

Expect last-minute delays and cancellations in the air

In the air, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) asked companies to give up part of their flights on Tuesday March 7 and Wednesday March 8, in anticipation of the air traffic controllers’ strike. The DGAC has asked companies to reduce their flight schedules by 20% at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle and by 30% at Paris-Orly, Beauvais, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Marseille, Montpellier, Nice and Toulouse.

« Air France plans to operate nearly 8 out of 10 flights, including all of its long-haul flights » , said the company“however, last-minute delays and cancellations cannot be ruled out. ».

Of the “ thousands of schools closed »

The Snuipp-FSU, the first primary school union, provides that “more than 60%” primary school teachers will be on strike and that “several thousand schools” will be closed on Tuesday. The intersyndicale de l’éducation, bringing together the seven main teachers’ unions, has called for the strikes to make it possible to “Totally close schools, colleges, high schools and services” this day.

On the side of early childhood, the unions do not mention “Black Tuesday” but perceive a willingness of staff, often precarious, to make their voices heard. “We can’t say it will be very strong, but the movement will be followed, that’s for sure”explains Cirylle Godfroi, co-secretary general of the early childhood union (SNPPE), quoted by The Parisian. For parents, it is therefore necessary to expect disruptions in the crèches, possibly in the canteens. In Marseille, all school canteens will be closed on Tuesday, around thirty in Arles, as well as around thirty nurseries in Montpellier. Sporadic blockages by high school and university students are also expected.

“The mobilization must continue and already promises to be very important on Wednesday March 8 as part of the day of struggle for women’s rights”announced the Snuipp in a press release.

LNG carriers disrupted for several days

Three of the four LNG terminals that import liquefied natural gas (LNG) into France have been shut down for ” seven days “, said CGT Elengy on Monday evening. The shutdown of these three terminals located at Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches du Rhône) for two of them, and at Saint Nazaire (Montoir-de-Bretagne, Loire-Atlantique) for the third, is blocking the supply of gas from the GRTgaz distribution network, the unloading of LNG carriers and the filling of LNG tanks.

“Elengy’s three LNG terminals are shut down”confirmed to AFP the management of Elengy, a subsidiary of Engie, which indicates that this shutdown was made “under normal security conditions” and did, at this point “no impact” for the general public.

The stop was “voted by the general meeting of staff organized by the CGT” (majority), according to Mathieu Michel, elected to the CHSCT of Elengy. The fourth LNG terminal in France, operated in Dunkirk by the Belgian group Fluxys, will also go on strike for 48 hours from Tuesday morning, the management of this group told AFP.

Calls to strike in shambles in the field of industry

Seven Bouches-du-Rhône federations, including those of petrochemicals, railway workers and ports and docks, have also announced that they will begin a renewable strike against the pension reform, until the government’s project is withdrawn, announced Monday. CGT 13.

Finally, a great novelty in the industry: the call for a strike in the whole of the metallurgy industry and in particular among the giants of the sector, listed on the CAC40: aeronautics, automobile, steel industry, are all concerned by a strike that the union of branch hopes to see renewed.

The CGT unions of Thales, Valeo, Stellantis, ArcelorMittal, Forvia, Airbus, Safran and Renault have notably called for a strike. In the agri-food sector, the CGT is calling on the big French sugar producers to shut down from Tuesday.

Renewable strike by garbage collectors throughout the country

The garbage collectors, who depend in particular on the transport branch, are called to the renewable strike this Tuesday throughout the country by the CGT.

Monday, those of the city of Paris who ensure the collection in half of the Parisian districts (2nd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 17th, and 20th) went on strike, confirmed Natacha Pommet , general secretary of the CGT Public Services. According to her, the garbage was not collected Monday evening in four districts, the 6th, the 14th, the 17th and the 20th.

One of the three incinerators around Paris, Porte d’Ivry, has been blocked since Monday by city officials, preventing waste from being burned there.

Renewable strike in trade and construction

The CGT construction and trade federations have joined the CGT’s interprofessional call for a renewable strike.

Mobilization looks uncertain in these sectors. In construction, by the admission of its CGT federal secretary Jean-Pascal François, it is ” more difficult “ to mobilize on pensions than on wages.

Refineries and refuellers also mobilized

In the refineries, the CGT has also called for a renewable strike, with the aim of “block the entire economy”, at the level of the production, distribution and importation of fuel, according to the CGT-Chemistry. Initially, the strikers intend to block shipments from refineries to depots, but if the movement were to last three days or more, it could lead to the shutdown of refineries.

Another link: refuellers or “sky gas station attendants”, responsible for supplying planes, are also called to strike in airports throughout France. The CGT, the leading union in the sector, expects an impact ” immediate “. The entire oil and chemical sector is called upon to strike, including in the pharmaceutical sector.

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