France. Transport strike to affect Paris.
Paris is preparing for a tumultuous day on Thursday, with half the city’s Metro lines closed while the rest of the public transport network will see heavy disruption.
- Seven metro lines will be fully closed and another seven will only operate at peak hours. Only lines 1 and 14 – which are fully automated with no drivers – will operate normally but risk becoming overcrowded.
- Metro lines 2, 3bis 5, 8, 10, 11 and 12 will be closed completely on Thursday.
Lines 3, 4, 6, 7, 7bis, 9 and 13 will operate only during rush hours – 7am to 9.30am and 4.30pm to 7.30pm – and will run limited services during these times. Lines 1 and 14, which are automated, will run as normal but are likely to be extremely busy.
There will also only be a partial service on suburban lines RER A and RER B which connect central Paris with Disneyland Paris and Charles de Gaulle airport respectively. On the RER, line A will run 1 in 3 of its normal services and will stop at 9pm, while line B – which connects Paris to its two airports – will run normal hours but with only half or 1 in 3 of its normal services. The other RER lines are run by SNCF, which is not expecting any disruption.
The following street demonstrations have been confirmed for Nov. 10:
- Lille: Rally at the Porte de Paris from 14:30.
- Montpellier: Rally at Montpellier-Saint-Roch train station from 12:00.
- Toulouse: Protest march from Metro Francois Verdier at 14:00; the exact march route is unclear.
Check transport availability if traveling in France during the strike period, and plan for delays and cancellations. Be prepared for localized business and travel disruption in the vicinity of protest sites. Avoid all protests as a standard precaution.