PARIS (AFP) — President Nicolas Sarkozy faced a crucial test of resolve Monday as a nationwide rail strike entered its second week and civil servants prepared their own action against his economic reform programme.
For a sixth straight day services on the train network were badly disrupted, and Paris commuters faced another arduous trek to get to work. Roads around the capital were jammed with 200 kilometres (125 miles) of traffic.
However officials at the RATP Paris metro operator said the situation was better than forecast, with one in three underground trains running, while the SNCF rail company reported one in two TGV high-speed trains.
Company figures showed a continuing fall in the number of strikers, with 26 percent at SNCF and 18 percent at RATP.
The strike over pension reform seemed certain to move into Tuesday, when a separate protest movement by government workers, hospital staff, teachers and other state employees has long been planned.
However hopes were raised of a possible resolution after unions said they would attend talks on Wednesday.
The government had previously said it would only enter negotiations once the strike was finished, but on Sunday Labour Minister Xavier Bertrand said it would attend Wednesday's talks if there was "a back-to-work dynamic".
Le Parisien newspaper described the week ahead as a "moment of truth for the start of the Sarkozy mandate". It noted that in the latest opinion poll the number of people who expressed confidence in the president had fallen to 51 percent.
The pro-government Le Figaro described it as a "decisive week for Sarkozy". But it said that -- in contrast with previous protest movements in France -- a clear majority of the population opposed the strikers.
It quoted a government-commissioned poll that found 64 percent in favour of the government's pension reforms, and support for the strike at just 33 percent.
On Sunday, several thousand people demonstrated in central Paris against the strike, which has caused major inconvenience and is beginning to hit the economy. In Paris some small businesses have closed temporarily because of the transport problem.
Anne-Marie Idrac, president of SNCF, said Monday that the strike had already cost the company 100 million euros (146 million dollars), and RATP chief Pierre Mongin put the cost at 24 million euros.
The strike is over plans to overhaul so-called "special" pensions systems enjoyed by 500,000 workers mainly in the rail and energy sectors. These allow workers to retire two and a half years earlier than the rest of the population, and Sarkozy has promised to end the anomaly.
State employees set to protest on Tuesday are up in arms over plans to trim the state pay-roll. In addition the government faces a campaign by students against a law that allows universities to raise money from private sources, and by magistrates against the closure of local courts.
Sarkozy's adviser on social affairs Raymond Soubie said he was hopeful the transport strike could be defused by mid-week, when the talks are due to start.
"I am reasonably positive we can reach a positive outcome, in other words a progressive return to work .... Evidently there are many fewer strikers, as they are a minority now," he said.
Workers at the energy companies EDF and GDF who joined the start of the strike have since entered talks with their managements.
The government has insisted it will not yield on the central point of the pensions reform, but it has suggested pay rises and other inducements.
SNCF management condemned acts of vandalism which it said had been carried out by strikers, including "dumping of ballast on switching-points, theft of keys to prevent trains from starting, firecrackers on the line, closure of signal boxes and obstacles on the tracks."
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