By Xinhua
Beijing : French rail workers Tuesday night started an open-ended strike nationwide in protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy’s pension reform plans.
Rail workers shut down much of France’s national rail service at 8:00 p.m. (19:00 GMT) on Tuesday. With local transport workers in Paris and employees of state-run energy and other services joining the rail workers, the strike could become the biggest France has seen in more than a decade.
Unlike recent limited transportation strikes, rail unions set no time limit for the shutdown.
Hours before the strike began, Sarkozy vowed not to give in to trade unions, which have defeated previous government attempts to loosen work rules.
“I will carry out these reforms right to the end. Nothing will put me off my goal,” he told the European Parliament during a visit to Strasbourg.
Sarkozy’s government insists the pension rules, which allow some public sector workers to retire on full pension after paying contributions for 2.5 years less than other workers, are outdated, unfair and too costly. Several opinion surveys suggest Sarkozy has public support.
However, the strike has brought the country’s transportation network to a major disruption.
State rail operator SNCF said only 90 of the 700 high-speed TGV trains will be running during the strike. It said traffic would likely be disrupted through the weekend.
The shutdown will also hit Paris metro and suburban commuter trains Wednesday. The city’s metro operator RATP predicted only one line was expected to run normally, as it is automated.
People planned to use the capital’s new bicycle rental service, share cars or stay home while Paris hotels said more than 25 percent of their reservations this week have been cancelled because of the strike.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the government wanted to find a solution as quickly as possible.
The transport workers’ pension privileges were devised more than half a century ago. Although the government says such schemes are outdated, the workers insist they still suffer low pay and awkward working hours that justify their status.