Oops! Relaxing the strike has brought relief to commuters in Paris

Passengers in Paris who were caring after a six-week miserable transport strike found their smiles again on Monday as some subway workers ended their walkout against a rival overhaul of France’s pension system.

Announcing a weekend return to work after a 46-day strike by the UNSA union’s subway wing, the French capital has seen a significant improvement in services since the start of a new week on Monday.

“It was very fluid,” he said Traveler Eric Lebron, after taking a train and then taking the subway during the morning rush hour.

LeBron makes weekly trips from Switzerland to Paris, where he lives, and says the strikes, which began on December 5, have had a “catastrophic” effect on his journey.

“It’s much better now,” he said.

For the first time since Dec. 5, service on 11 of Paris’s 16 subway lines has returned to full or almost normal, according to the RATP company, which operates the metro system.

However, not all strikers voted to return to work. The unions are divided over whether the government will accept the offer of a compromise or whether it will continue to push for a complete withdrawal of the pension reform plan. UNSA’s subway branch said that while its strikers had decided to return to work, the union planned to continue protesting against “unfair” pension reform.

On five subway lines, services were disrupted, the RATP said.

On the Paris suburban train network, some passengers noticed improvement while others said they were still waiting longer than usual for trains.

“It’s not better than usual, just like last week,” said Pierre Butelup, a passenger who ventured into the morning cold on a platform west of Paris. “I waited for the train for about 10 minutes. Usually, one train arrives every three or four minutes. “

But student Leah Toussaint says the wait for the train at her university on Monday was much shorter than last week – just a few minutes.

“It’s much better,” he said.

John Leicester, Associated Press