Strike goes on but resolve wanes

THE RAIL strike will continue into a 10th day tomorrow, but union resolve is weakening, with several general meetings voting to return to work today.

SNCF forecasts it will be able to run eight out of 10 trains across much of the country tomorrow, despite the dispute continuing in some areas. It also said it would be able to run 80 more TGVs tomorrow.

Union members voted to continue the strike in Lille, Lyon, Nancy, Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Grenoble, Aquitaine, and Poitou-Charentes.

Resolve was less strong in Marseille and Toulon, where some sections voted to return to work.

Meanwhile, the vote swung the other way at general meetings in Toulouse, Perigueux, Rennes, Brittany and Nord-Pas-de-Calais, where strikers decided enough was enough after Parliament had voted to merge SNCF and RFF under one umbrella company.

SNCF has said that support for the strike has decreased steadily. It reported that the rate was 10.48% for all staff today, compared to nearly 28% on June 10.

In Paris, however, several thousand rail workers took to the streets between Montparnasse and Les Invalides in a show of solidarity and strength.