France faces the biggest wave of industrial action in modern history.
Most flights, busses and trains across France will not be running for five days.
Why is there a national strike?
The main goal of the strike is to protest against President Macron’s plan to reform the pension system in France.
President Macron hopes to revise the current pension system in France.
According to President Macron, the current pension system is way too costly for the country to maintain.
President Macron wants to transition to a points-based pension system.
How will the national strike impact France?
Starting today, travellers going to France or leaving France will experience chaos due to the national strike.
The national strike causes significant disruptions to the French economy as well as British businesses who work with business partners in France.
There will be no trains running from London to Paris until Tuesday.
Eurostar has already cancelled more than 100 train services between today and Tuesday.
Flights
Furthermore, most flights to and from France will be cancelled.
Airlines such as Easyjet (LON: EZJ) , British Airways (LON:BAY) and Ryanair (LON: RYA) cancelled most of their flights to and from France due to the national strike.
Air France (EPA: AF) announced that more than a third of its domestic flights will be cancelled within the next five days.
Most flights to and from Charles de Gaulle got cancelled this morning.
Transportation
Moreover, ferries in France reported that they expect disruptions starting this afternoon.
The SNCF railway company reported that a minimum of 9 out of 10 of their domestic and international trains will be cancelled.
The SNCF is France’s biggest and nationally owned railway company.
Cancellations of their services will have a significant negative impact on the French economy as it will greatly disrupt business operations.
The strike will impact many private businesses as most public transportation systems in French cities will be closed during the strike.
Paris
The subway system in Paris is mostly closed starting today. Most employees in Paris use the metro to get to work.
Subway closures will disrupt local business operations in Paris as employees are likely to arrive late or not show up to work.
Furthermore, police ordered all businesses, cafes and restaurants along the route of planned protests to close.
The French government appointed an additional 6,000 police across Paris. Protests are likely to turn violent.
The police warned Parisians of potential violence and damage.
Who is striking?
Many workers are taking industrial action against President Macron’s proposal.
Teachers, medics, airport workers, truck drivers and railway workers are among those who are striking.
The strike will paralyse France for days.
Impacts of the strike are likely to exceed the length of the strike as France will need time and money to recover from the consequences of the chaos the strike creates.
Tourism
The national strike has a huge impact on tourism in France.
Many tourists cancelled their hotel reservations due to the strike.
Major tourist attractions such as the Eiffel Tower will be closed during the strike.
The Louvre Museum also reported that its opening will be delayed and some of its rooms will be closed due to the strike.
England
France isn’t the only country in the region facing negative consequences of strikes.
England is four days into its 27 day long South Western Railway strike.