Weekend of travel misery in store

SNCF workers have voted to extend their strike for at least another 24 hours.

In some areas, striking rail workers have already voted to extend the walkout into Monday, union spokesman Thierry Nier said.

To make matters worse for travellers in France, between 400 and 550 members of Air France ground crew at Roissy airport are set to strike on Sunday, in protest at the “degradation of working conditions”.

Although no flight cancellations are anticipated, the union has warned travellers that they will face delays.

Both President François Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls have demanded that rail unions call off the strike.

Mr Valls insisted: “There is no reason for it (the strike) to continue”.

But, with the possibility of the dispute dragging on into next week, the government said it was working on contingency plans so that students taking their first baccalauréat exams would not be inconvenienced.

Earlier today, France's transport minister Frédéric Cuvillier admitted that the dispute could affect the first day of this year’s exams.

There was some good news, however, for the government and beleaguered travellers, as the Unsa union has decided to call off its planned strike for Tuesday following what it described as “reassurance” from the government on railway reform.