The national strike against the pension reform kicks off today in France. The transport sector is also affected with inconveniences that are recorded on railway and metro routes, but also on trams, buses and planes. Delays and cancellations of air and train connections are expected today and tomorrow, while the Paris metro will travel in fits and starts. Around 10,000 policemen mobilized to deal with the mobilization of a million demonstrators in French cities.

According to national media reports, the stop on air connections will start at 7:00pm today and end tomorrow morning at 7:00am. However, there could also be repercussions in the following hours. The airlines most affected are those based in Paris, such as Air France and the low-cost easyJet.

As far as trains are concerned, the strike will affect today: some companies, such as Eurostar, have already revised their programming for tomorrow as well. The employees of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer français (Sncf) and of the transport company of the capital Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (Ratp) are also on strike.

The unrest also extends to traffic controllers at airports and public transport controllers in many cities. The protest also involves schools, hospitals, as well as refineries and petrol stations. On the latter front, according to the Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) union, between 70 and 100% of the employees of most of the TotalEnergies refineries are on strike.