About half of the regional rail services were canceled on Tuesday, French state railways operator SNCF informed, but there have been no major disruptions to train movements on domestic routes.
Meanwhile, the railway operator “Eurostar” has canceled some flights between London and Paris due to the strike.
Less than 10% of secondary school teachers joined the strike on Tuesday. In primary schools, the percentage of teachers on strike is even lower, according to data from the French Ministry of Education. Vocational school teachers are the most actively involved in the strike, where there is the greatest opposition to planned reforms.
Refinery workers in France have been on strike for weeks and union leaders hoped that the government’s decision to force some warehouse workers to return to work to cope with the fuel shortage would anger other public sector workers.
However, the results of a survey conducted by the research company “Elabe” on behalf of the television channel “BFM TV” show that only 39% of the French population supports the call for a general strike expressed by the unions on Tuesday, while 49% do not supports it. Additionally, there is growing opposition to the strike by oil refining workers, which has become one of the biggest tests for President Emmanuel Macron since his re-election in May.
Extensive strikes have affected the energy sector of the second European economy, for example, due to the strike by the employees of the nuclear energy company EDF, important maintenance work for the European electricity supply has been postponed.
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Sunday that the government plans to adopt next year’s national budget using special constitutional powers that would allow it to circumvent a parliamentary vote.
Demonstrations across the country are expected against the government’s plans.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Paris on Sunday to protest against rising prices.
