Major strike at Paris metro network disrupts daily commute for millions
February 18, 2022, 9:26 am

Major strike at Paris metro network disrupts daily commute for millions

Metro station in Paris (File photo: Pixabay)

The US News reported, citing Reuters, a major strike paralysed most of Paris's metro network and city train grid on Friday, disrupting the daily commutes of millions of people, as workers demand pay hikes.

The French capital's RATP public transport company said eight subway lines were closed, with the remaining six operating only partially, while two of the city's RER north-to-south and east-to-west lines were also heavily hit.

RATP said on its website that just two lines, the 1 and 14, which are both self-driving, without a human conductor aboard, were unaffected by the strikes.

Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djeebbari said on Twitter: "We call on businesses to make maximum use of home office working."

RATP workers have said the walkouts, which come as unions and management head into annual wage talks, were a result of insufficient pay increases offered by the state-owned company.

Paris city in France (File photo: Pixabay)

RATP had said it was prepared to hike wages by 2.7% in 2022, a move unions described this month as a "provocation".

In recent years, Paris's public transport system, one of the world's busiest, has been thrown into chaos several times.

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Parisians remember above all the month-long walkouts in the fall of 2019 when public transport and railway workers protested against plans for pension reform by President Emmanuel Macron.

Macron later called off the reform, citing the changed situation because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: usnews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.