French rail routes disrupted by strike over train security

18/10/2019 17:04

        A wildcat strike is disrupting train travel around France, as railway workers demand better security after a recent accident.
        
        Traffic was particularly tangled Friday around Lyon, in Normandy and in the Paris region, according to the SNCF national rail authority.
        
        The CGT union called for the walkout after a truck-train collision in eastern France Wednesday left 11 injured. CGT official Laurent Brun tweeted that the accident was "the final straw" after a string of other incidents, and that train drivers don't want to die on the job or have "passenger deaths on our conscience."
        
        The action comes amid a season of strikes and protests over President Emmanuel Macron's plans to overhaul France's complex retirement benefits and other policies.