MORE than half of primary school teachers are on strike today - the biggest industrial action of this academic year, according to unions.
The biggest teaching union, SNUipp-FSU, said 52.5% of its members would take part in the national industry-wide walkout to defend their right to retire at 60.
Their estimate is based on replies from teachers in 39 departments - and the disruption to classes will vary from one department to the next.
In Paris, 80 schools out of 660 will be closed. Minimum service arrangements should be in place at primary schools, with sport and other activities replacing many lessons.
Flights
About 15% of planes taking off and landing from Paris Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports will be cancelled between 7.00 and 14.00.
French civil aviation group DGAC says passengers should check with their airline.
Public transport
The SNCF strike starts at 20.00 on Wednesday and runs until 8.00 on Friday morning. Half of TGVs and Transilien trains will run and one Corail in four.
For more information on train times, see www.sncf.com or www.infolignes.com for the major lines, or www.abcdtrains.com for Transilien services in the Ile-de-France.
Two phone numbers are also in place - for long-distance routes on 08 05 90 36 35 and Transilien on 08 05 70 08 05.
In Paris, there will be little disruption to buses and trams. Some 60% of metros will be running, two-thirds of RER A services but only one in five RER Bs.
The central stretch of the RER B, from Gare du Nord to Denfert-Rochereau will be completely closed, requiring passengers to take line 4 instead.
More info is available at www.ratp.fr or by calling 08 00 15 11 11.
Outside the capital, 24-hour strikes are being planned by public transport workers in 69 towns and cities, according to bus drivers' union UTP (see the full list below).
Four smaller strikes are planned in Angoulême and Nice (less than four hours) and Béziers and Cherbourg (less than an hour).
Towns and cities with public transport on strike:
Aix-les-Bains, Alès, Angers, Annecy, Annemasse, Antibes, Aurillac, Avignon, Bayonne, Besançon, Bordeaux, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Bourges, Brest, Caen, Cannes, Châlons-en-Champagne, Chambéry, Charleville-Mézières, Le Creusot/Montceau-les-Mines, Clermont-Ferrand, Dieppe, Dijon, Douai, Dunkerque, Evreux, Istres, Laval, Lille, Lorient, Lyon, Marseille, Maubeuge, Mont-de-Marsan, Montélimar, Montluçon, Montpellier, Morlaix, Mulhouse, Nancy, Nantes, Nîmes, Orléans, Pau, Perpignan, Poitiers, Quimper, La Rochelle, Rennes, Rouen, Royan, Saint-Etienne, Saint-Malo, Saint-Nazaire, Saintes, Saumur, Strasbourg, Thionville, Toulon, Toulouse, Tours, Valence, Valenciennes, Vannes, Vierzon.
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