31 January strike against pension reform: major disruptions expected in schools and transport

Schools, public transport, power stations, refineries: Many sectors are expected to be disrupted or blocked on Tuesday, January 31, with an inter-union call to strike against the government’s pension reform plan, after January 19. As the text comes to the National Assembly on Monday, here are the forecasts in the key sectors.

According to SNUipp-FSU, every second teacher in the first grade is on strike

SNUipp-FSU, the first primary school union, predicted on Monday that half of first-grade teachers would go on strike as part of the second day of national mobilization against pension reform.

“50% remains a very good indicator, which shows who is organizing the protest movement against pension reform in schools”Guiselain David, Secretary General of the Union, explained to Agence France-Presse. In Paris, SNUipp-FSU is planning a strike “still massive” with “At least a hundred schools will be closed and 60% of teachers will go on strike”.

According to SNCF, rail traffic is “very seriously disrupted”.

The mobilization of railway workers will reduce the number of TER trains from ten to two in the regions, TGV traffic by 25% or 30% depending on the axis and after SNCF there will be virtually no long-distance trains and no night trains. .

In the Paris Metro, only automatic lines 1 and 14 will operate normally. Subway drivers on other lines provide one out of two or one out of four. Some lines will have closed stations and will only operate during peak hours. Bus and tram drivers provide 80% of the service.

In Île-de-France, traffic promises to follow, preventing regional Transilien and RER trains from running, one in three trains, even one in ten trains, depending on the lines.

Internationally, Eurostar and Thalys traffic will be almost normal, but there will be TGV traffic “very upset” Between France and Switzerland (Lyria).

At airports, mainly, the flight attendants’ strike will cause delays and disruptions. One in five flights must be canceled on the Paris-Orly route. But at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, there should be enough non-strike personnel to provide the planned program, according to the general direction of civil aviation.

Most buses in Bordeaux will operate, but around ten lines will be canceled, seven will be reduced and the tram frequency will be reduced to three lines. The rate of declared strikers is 16%, less than on January 19 (24%). Dozens of buses in Rennes will be canceled due to the planned demonstration in the morning and other diverted routes. According to STAR, the two automated metro lines should run normally.

Mobilized public service, closed city hall

The announcement of the national interprofessional strike applies to the entire public service, where 28% of the 2.5 million state employees were mobilized the previous day, January 19, according to the ministry. Halls in cities like Paris or Montreux (Saint-Saint-Denis) have announced that they have closed their doors.

Production is expected to decrease in energy

The strike should be closely monitored at the refineries, already following a two-day work stoppage on January 19 and 26: the refineries were open on those days, but fuel shipments were blocked for twenty-four hours each time. EDF’s strikers must still reduce electricity production at nuclear power plants and dams, although without cutting power, network manager RTE will strictly monitor these actions. In electricity and gas, there may also be free distribution actions or targeted cuts at EDF or Engie.