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Fed-Up French Travelers Face Traffic Chaos Over Festive Period

Agence France-Presse

   PARIS - Travelersacross France scrambledSaturday to begin their
   Christmas getaways as a strike over a pension overhaul showedno signs
   of letting up.

   Trains were canceled, roads were packed and nerves were tested,
   buthopes of a holiday truce were dashed after talks between the
   government and union leaders this week failed to ease the standoff.
   Train operator SNCF warnedthat the traffic would be "severely
   disrupted" over the festive period.
   SNCF said its aim to allow 850,000 ticket holders to travel this
   weekend was being upheld --but only half of its usual services were
   running.
   "I'm upset. This strike is unbearable. ... The government must do
   something," said JeffreyNwutuEbube, who was in the northern port town
   of Le Havre trying to find a way back home to the southern city of
   Toulouse, 850kilometers(530 miles) away.
   Late Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macroncalled on the strikers
   to embrace a "spirit of responsibility" and for "collective good sense
   to triumph."
   "I believe there are moments in the life of a nation when it is also
   good to call a truce to respect families and the lives of families," he
   said, speaking inAbdijan, the commercial capital of Ivory Coast, where
   he was on a visit.

   Options are few

   Many strandedtravelershave turned to car rental agencies or sharing
   platforms since the strike began on December 5, but the last-minute
   surge in demand meant vehicles were hard to come by.

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