Train drivers and station staff at the French state railway SNCF began three months of rolling stoppages on Monday evening as trade unions campaign against President Emmanuel Macron’s labour reforms.
The action is expected to be the biggest wave of industrial unrest since Macron’s election last May.
Alain Krakovitch, a senior SNCF manager, told Le Parisien newspaper that only 12% of high-speed TGV trains would operate today (April 3) and the low-cost Ouigo service would be at a standstill.
Only one in five regional trains would be running, AFP reported.
But international services would be only marginally affected, Krakovitch said, with about 75% of Eurostar trains running and about 90% of Thalys services to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
As a result of the strikes, Eurostar trains to Disneyland Paris have been re-routed to Paris today and tomorrow instead of Marne-la-Vallee for access to the theme park.
Passengers visiting Disneyland Paris are advised to travel from Gare du Nord by taking the Paris RER train network.
Five London to Paris and two London to Brussels services have been cancelled today and tomorrow (Wednesday 4).
The railway unions plan to strike two days out of every five until the end of June.
