France disrupted by protest strikes at pension reforms
Major queues of trucks also built up at the Channel port of Calais because of a strike against dock privatisation plans.
Rail workers led the national stoppage, with only half of trains running across France, but commuter chaos was limited in Paris and other big cities, as the unions stuck to new rules on providing minimum service during strikes. The main CGT union said more than 700,000 people marched in 153 towns and cities across France — well over the target turnout of half a million. Police had yet to release their own estimate.
