(AFP) – Oct 17, 2007

PARIS (AFP) — France faced a second day of paralysing public transport strikes Friday as smaller rail unions decided to prolong their a stoppage over planned pension reforms.

Two smaller train unions called for a 24-hour extension of Thursday's strike while the French state rail company SNCF warned that services would be "very disrupted" Friday morning.

However the large CGT union is opposed to continuing the stoppage. Union leaders were to meet Monday to decide whether to stage more strikes.

In Paris the metro and urban rail body RATP warned that service would remain "severely disturbed" throughout Friday.

SNCF said it could only guarantee that services would be "halfway" back to normal by Friday evening.

The capital's new system of public bicycles, the Velib, broke all previous records Thursday, clocking up 135,000 journeys by early evening as many Parisians chose peddle-power to beat the strike, according to official figures.

Police said 150,000 people turned out at demonstrations nationwide Thursday to oppose the pension reforms planned by President Nicolas Sarkozy. The figure in Paris was 25,000, union organisers said.

Further disruptions on Friday could affect the rugby World Cup action in Paris, where France plays Argentina for third place ahead of Saturday's final between South Africa and England.

State rail operator SNCF assured English rugby supporters that Eurostar services between England and France will be normal from Friday.

Friday night's match is at the Parc de Princes stadium in southwest Paris -- a venue heavily reliant on metro lines.

Defeated opposition Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal said the strikes showed the "growth and confidence" promised by Sarkozy had turned into "mistrust and arrogance."

The Socialist party also suggested that the presidency chose to announce Sarkozy's divorce from his wife Cecilia on the same day as the strike in order to deaden its media impact.

The government vowed to stick to plans to reform public sector pensions despite Thursday's strike.

"We are ready to listen to the fears and anxieties which are being expressed via the strike and try to respond to them," said government spokesman Laurent Wauquiez, adding that the government would "not give way" on pension reform.

Commuters faced a day of struggle Thursday as the rail network ground to a halt, and Paris metro and bus systems were reduced to a skeleton service. Many workers chose to stay at home, or walked or cycled to the office.

Tourists found several Paris museums shut, including the Musee d'Orsay and most of the Louvre, while the Opera de Paris and Comedie Francaise theatre cancelled evening performances.

Striking electricity workers also cut off supply to La Lanterne, an official residence in the grounds of the palace of Versailles which is being used as a second home by the president.

Unions said three-quarters of workers at the state-run SNCF rail company joined the strike -- the biggest turn-out in many years.

"The movement is strong, very strong, and there's a large proportion of strikers. One can sense the anger rising and the government has got to take it into account," said Jean-Claude Mailly of the Workers' Force (FO) union at the head of a demonstration through Paris.

The protest movement is seen as the first major challenge to Sarkozy, who has promised an overhaul of the moribound economy.

The last time a French government tried to change the "special" pensions regimes was in 1995 when prime minister Alain Juppe was forced into a humiliating climbdown by weeks of strikes.

There was contradictory evidence on the state of public opinion towards the strikers.

According to an IFOP poll, 61 percent believe that the strike is "not justified". However, a CSA survey for the Communist daily L'Humanite found 54 percent in favour of the "movement".

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