Strikes hit French transport network

France suffered a “Black Tuesday” of one-day strikes against the government’s economic and labour policies, with widespread travel disruptions, schools closed, flights cancelled and exchanges of stones and tear gas grenades between demonstrators and police.

Rail, bus and tram services were affected to varying degrees across France, including the high-speed TGV train network.

Tens of thousands of strikers joined demonstrations in Paris and other cities. The left-wing CGT union estimated their number at more than a million, while police put the figure at 470,000 nationwide.

“Together for employment, purchasing power, workers’ rights,” read a banner at the front of the Paris march, which the CGT said attracted 150,000 people. The police count was 30,000.

After a demonstration on Corsica, a group of about 100 protesters, some wearing hoods, clashed with riot police. No injuries were reported.

Government plans to privatise an ailing state ferry operator that links the Mediterranean island and the French mainland have added to tensions there.

The strike hit air links, with aviation authorities announcing the cancellation of more than 400 flights to and from Paris’ two main airports.

About 229,000 teachers stayed at home, the Education Ministry said. So, too, did about 15% of postal workers, according to the mail service. Newspapers were not delivered in Paris.

National rail operator SNCF said all Paris stations were disrupted, with 65% of morning trains cancelled at Montparnasse, Paris-Lyon and Paris-North but 60% running normally at Paris-East.

Services were disrupted on all but one of Paris’ Metro lines. The subway system in Lyon, in the southeast, stopped completely. One in four morning rush hour buses and three in four trams were operating in southwestern Bordeaux, authorities there said.

Prime minister Dominique de Villepin, who has made a priority of bringing down France’s nearly 10% unemployment rate, told parliament, “I am listening to the message the French are sending us.”

“We want to reply to their worries, their aspirations. They want results and we are fighting for that.”

The nationwide union-organised protest was the first since Villepin took office four months ago, presenting his government with another test following last week’s unrest on Corsica.