Transport Strikes Freeze Up France

Commuters crowd into a subway train in this file photo taken early Thursday, March 10, 2005, in Paris, as unions were calling for major transport strikes and a massive demonstration to defend the 35-hour work week and to push for more jobs and pay talks. One-day strikes beginning Wednesday Oct. 17, 2007 could leave France without a viable transportation system and are shaping up as the first real challenge to Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency and his drive to change the way the French work. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere, File) (Remy De La Mauviniere - AP)

PARIS -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy's first real test after five months in office comes at rush hour Thursday, with a strike disrupting flights, trains around Europe and stripping Paris of public transport _ all because of anger over plans to trim some retirement packages.

The strikes, which began late Wednesday and were to last through Thursday, are meant to send a warning that deeper reforms will come at a cost.

Sarkozy is facing a number of challenges as the economy lags despite his pledges to invigorate it, and signs of discord arise within his party over the president's policies. His rocky marriage also is front-page news.

The president appeared unfazed, pledging to push through the reforms regardless of public protest because "that's what I was elected for."

While France's strikes are famously common, the country has not had any serious ones since Sarkozy took office. This week's action could be the biggest in years.

Labor leaders hoped the walkout would recall 1995 strikes that paralyzed the country and sapped then-President Jacques Chirac's appetite for reform. Those strikes _ also involving retirement rights _ dragged on for three weeks.

Sarkozy will be out of the country at an EU summit in Portugal on Thursday, while tens of millions of his compatriots struggle to get to work and school.

The strike started at 8 p.m. Wednesday, giving people a chance to get home from work during the evening rush hour. Soon after it began, the Paris subway appeared to be running as usual, though screens advised travelers of disruptions to come. The bulk of problems were expected Thursday.

The Paris transport authority said traffic would be "virtually nil" on most of its lines, and "nearly paralyzed" on the national rail network.

Eurostar trains to London and connections to neighboring European countries also would be disrupted.

Transit workers initiated the strikes, but employees of state-run electricity, gas and other services also could take part.

Most teachers were not planning to strike, but some schools were expected to close because of transport difficulties.