Nov 21, 2007, 17:07 GMT
Paris - Negotiations began Wednesday to resolve the French transport strike that has disrupted national train traffic and public transportation in the greater Paris area for eight days.
Although union leaders and the head of the RATP urban transport system said that progress had been made during the first round of talks, the strike will continue at least through Thursday, with disruptions again foreseen for the Paris metro and the trains connecting the capital with its suburbs.
'There is no reason, under these conditions, to prolong the current strike,' RATP head Pierre Mongin told journalists following the negotiations.
National train service will also be disrupted on Thursday, but significantly more high-speed TGV and other long-haul and regional trains will be in service than had been Wednesday, the national railway network SNCF said.
Union officials said that rank-and-file members are to vote Thursday on whether to continue the job action.
On Wednesday, a series of acts of sabotage committed overnight added to the woes of French travellers and commuters.
According to Mireille Faugere, SNCF executive director for passengers, unknown persons damaged cables used for the high-speed TGV rail network and then set them on fire and also set fire to TGV shunting points.
As a result, many of the TGV trains in operation were delayed for up to three hours and had to be rerouted to normal tracks. The service was already reduced by almost half because of the strike.
Unions and government officials firmly denounced the vandalism. President Nicolas Sarkozy said, 'When unacceptable lines are crossed, it must be denounced,' and asked Justice Minister Rachida Dati to begin a vigorous investigation.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon told lawmakers in the National Assembly that the vandalims were 'criminal acts' that would be 'severely punished.'
At issue in the strike is a planned pension reform that would do away with specific pension privileges for about 500,000 workers in the transport and energy sectors.
Late Tuesday, after a week of silence on the issue, Sarkozy said the government would 'not give in or back down' on the reform. Polls show that his firm stance is largely backed by the French public, which views the pension privileges as unfair.
According to government estimates, the strike has so far cost the French economy up to 400 million euros (about 590 million dollars).
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