French commuters suffer 2nd consecutive day of travel chaos as strike continues

Millions of French commuters suffered a second consecutive day of travel chaos on Wednesday as rail workers continued to strike in a dispute with the government over reforming the state-owned SNCF railways. Commuters in and around Paris pushed their way onto the few trains running during the rush-hour while many platforms in Paris’ busiest stations lay empty, Reuters reports. SNCF data at midday showed the number of drivers on strike fell slightly on Wednesday. However, more signalmen and conductors walked out than a day earlier. Across the company, including administrative and sales staff, the participation rate dipped. President Emmanuel Macron wants to transform the heavily indebted rail company into a profit-making public service able to withstand foreign competition when its monopoly ends in 2020 in line with EU rules.