Strikes cause UK-France travel disruption

Travel to and from Paris will be severely disrupted today as French public sector workers stage widespread industrial action.

Eurostar said it would be cancelling four train services between London and the French capital, while a third of flights into and out of Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Beauvais airports will be axed.

Long-haul flights are not affected, however.

Within the country, just one in four regular mainline trains will be running, while some suburban commuter lines in Paris will be affected too.

Metro (Dusseldorf: 62M.DU - news) and bus services are expected to run normally.

The dispute is over public sector reforms wanted by President Emmanuel Macron, who argues the sector has too much debt.

His government is targeting the SNCF rail operator in particular, which is carrying €46.6bn (£40.7bn) of debt.

"We're never happy when things change, yet we want things to change - that's the paradox of France," he tweeted last week.

The unions have accused Mr Macron of wanting to dismantle the public sector, while workers are angry that pay has not kept up with inflation.

Seven trade unions called on public sector workers including school and hospital staff, civil servants and air traffic controllers to walk out, with more than 140 protests expected across the country.

Unless the reform plans are dropped, rail workers say they will strike on two days out of every five between 3 April and 28 June.

On Friday, Air France (Paris: FR0000031122 - news) staff including pilots and cabin crew will be striking, demanding a 6% rise in salary.