We landed at CDG in 2003 on the day of the all-France transportation strike. It was interesting--our AA plane was the only thing moving on the tarmac, but as there were no extendable gates out came the rolling stairs. I couldn't manage them because of a knee problem and had requested a wheelchair, just in case. Good thing! Another man in a wheelchair and I were rolled into a compartment on top of a very tall contraption that looked like something out of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. The thing crept slowly over to the covered ramp extending out from the AA satellite, and we were taken inside through a door at that level.
Lines at Immigration weren't bad, as ours was the only plane. But when we got to Customs we discovered that no one was there. No one at all. What a great time for people bringing in contraband!
Because of the strike we had had to change our connecting flight to Nice to Orly and take the Air France bus over. Supervisors were driving the buses, and things went fairly smoothly. At Orly it was the same problem with climbing lots and lots of steps. When we landed at Nice and looked out at the Promenade des Anglais it all looked like a holiday--many people out enjoying the sunlight.
Experienced a French Strike?
Anceyfrance, Many of those strikes were for 1 or 2 days, like the Metro strikes in the 50-s, if you did not read in the pepars about them, you noticed many business people in suites, roller-skating to work, with a briefcase in their hand. It was a pretty funny picture. Generally they only lasted 1 or 2 days, by then the strikers figued everybodu know why they struck, and everybody, including the gov't knew why they were striking, and everthing went back to normal - for at least several months. After a few months, when there was on other strike, the gov't resigned, a new prime minister was appointed, and everithing went OK for a few momths, and the circle stated again (actually the same 4-5 prime ministers followed each other).
BP Chuck
BP Chuck
This is true BPAL, sadly. But things change...usually from bad to worse, then start to get better again. Strikes can be an annoyance. I really hate to tell you that I have barely been inconvenienced by them. Well, at least I have not missed a flight because of them. I may not see the humour in a day without services then. I would be interested to hear what those participants think of their actions now?.
I started this thread not too long ago and in rereading it with all the experiences added to it I realized that the strikes of today in France...while a big inconvenience to many are really a piece of cake to the strikes that existed in Paris during the 20th century. I remember one in the 80's that involved students at the Sorbonne and in the police "sweeps" to head off demonstrators many tourists and plain ordinary civilians were herded with the students with gentility not on their minds.
I have experienced many, but I never minded them. I feel in the end, the employee gets a better deal than he/she had.
But, I was amused at the first one, several years ago in Dijon. I was staying in a little village, Ancey, 19 km NW of Dijon centre ville. I returned my rent car, with my daughter and trotted off to the Galeries Lafayette buythe rest of the Chantel Thomas nylons that I love at a mere snip and them have lunch.
We came out of the restaurant, stood at an unusually quiet bus stop for ages, freezing...then realized..a strike. But before the rent car was returned Dijon was bustling around. Of course after my daughter began to work at chez Mariannaud la greve' was always noted on the door so as not to forget.
But, I was amused at the first one, several years ago in Dijon. I was staying in a little village, Ancey, 19 km NW of Dijon centre ville. I returned my rent car, with my daughter and trotted off to the Galeries Lafayette buythe rest of the Chantel Thomas nylons that I love at a mere snip and them have lunch.
We came out of the restaurant, stood at an unusually quiet bus stop for ages, freezing...then realized..a strike. But before the rent car was returned Dijon was bustling around. Of course after my daughter began to work at chez Mariannaud la greve' was always noted on the door so as not to forget.
My only strike experience was mercifully mild. The museum workers were striking, so when we showed up to the Louvre there were a group of malcontents blocking the entrance with various banners. Needless to say, the museum was closed. Luckily, we were able to get up the Arc de Triomphe that day before it too closed due to the strike, and they didn't kick us out. Made for a very uncrowded visit. Here's hoping for no strikes this April
Walt
Walt
We arrived in Paris in 2003 on the day of the nationwide strike, not knowing what to expect. What we saw at first was a nearly deserted airport; only a few planes, mostly foreign, were parked on the runways, and the push-out gate ramps weren't working. Neither was immigration or customs (must have been a great day for smuggling). Baggage, however, came out very quickly.
Our flight from CDG to Nice had been cancelled two days earlier and replaced by one departing from Orly; so our first problem was getting to a different airport. The Air France shuttle buses were being driven by supervisory staff and were packed to the brim. At Orly the extendable ramps were again not being used, but that was the only evidence of the strike that we saw at the terminal.
On our arrival at Nice all was as usual. As our taxi took us along the Promenade des Anglais we saw hordes of people enjoying themselves along the beach and the walkway--it looked as though school was out and workers had declared a holiday!
Our flight from CDG to Nice had been cancelled two days earlier and replaced by one departing from Orly; so our first problem was getting to a different airport. The Air France shuttle buses were being driven by supervisory staff and were packed to the brim. At Orly the extendable ramps were again not being used, but that was the only evidence of the strike that we saw at the terminal.
On our arrival at Nice all was as usual. As our taxi took us along the Promenade des Anglais we saw hordes of people enjoying themselves along the beach and the walkway--it looked as though school was out and workers had declared a holiday!
I was just in Paris the other week. We went to the train station to book a train to Brugge (Belgium) and were nicely told that we couldn't go on the day we wanted because there would be a train and metro strike that day.
So...we booked for the next day and then asked our concierge what the strike would mean to inner city travel. He had said that 1 in 3 metro trains would be running (at best) and that they would be VERY crowded. He also said that one of the lines (can't remember the number right now) would still be running full schedule as it was an automated train. He also told us to make sure we knew where we were going and could get tickets by the machines as there would not be anyone at the metro stops to help us.
We rearranged our day so that we were doing things that were close to the hotel, in case we had to walk. We tried to take the metro once but it was packed like sardines! We took a very full bus instead.
In general I found that, although people were annoyed by the inconvenience, they were very calm about the whole situation.
As a traveler able to rearrange their schedule, I didn't find it to be too much of a hassle...just another travel story.
So...we booked for the next day and then asked our concierge what the strike would mean to inner city travel. He had said that 1 in 3 metro trains would be running (at best) and that they would be VERY crowded. He also said that one of the lines (can't remember the number right now) would still be running full schedule as it was an automated train. He also told us to make sure we knew where we were going and could get tickets by the machines as there would not be anyone at the metro stops to help us.
We rearranged our day so that we were doing things that were close to the hotel, in case we had to walk. We tried to take the metro once but it was packed like sardines! We took a very full bus instead.
In general I found that, although people were annoyed by the inconvenience, they were very calm about the whole situation.
As a traveler able to rearrange their schedule, I didn't find it to be too much of a hassle...just another travel story.
Over the years, I've had several to deal with. The first was a 1-day metro strike in 73 during our honeymoon, and we were staying at a hotel near Etoile. We rented bikes, and hit the Bois de Boulougne and Muse Marmottan, and just relaxed. Pretty minimal impact.
The worst greve was, I think, in 87, and it was a bank strike on a business trip (I sometimes lose touch which business trip was on what date). Nobody would touch our travelers checks except the hotels, and they were charging something like 25-35% commission to cash them. Luckily, one of the people in my party had lots of dollars, so we were able to go to the PTT to cash dollars for FFr. At that time, the Metro, RER, and SNCF didn't take plastic. Luckily, we were able to buy Metro carnets on plastic at the employee store of the French company we were visiting. I had about $300 in FFr, and the rest of the time I was able to use my plastic. One of the things that got us evil stares was that we didn't have much cash for tipping, and the credit purchases didn't have the space to add a tip, so we tended to avoid the places that were "SNC". That usually meant that we had to avoid the better restaurants. . . . .javascript:emoticon(':angry:')
The worst greve was, I think, in 87, and it was a bank strike on a business trip (I sometimes lose touch which business trip was on what date). Nobody would touch our travelers checks except the hotels, and they were charging something like 25-35% commission to cash them. Luckily, one of the people in my party had lots of dollars, so we were able to go to the PTT to cash dollars for FFr. At that time, the Metro, RER, and SNCF didn't take plastic. Luckily, we were able to buy Metro carnets on plastic at the employee store of the French company we were visiting. I had about $300 in FFr, and the rest of the time I was able to use my plastic. One of the things that got us evil stares was that we didn't have much cash for tipping, and the credit purchases didn't have the space to add a tip, so we tended to avoid the places that were "SNC". That usually meant that we had to avoid the better restaurants. . . . .javascript:emoticon(':angry:')
Whwn I lived in Paris, severl year backI expreinced many stikes. They generally lasted only one or a few days. Most often it was the Metro. This is when the fun started. People used any means to get to work. Most people pulled out their bikes, and the streets were crowded with bike and their really caused a trafic jam. Others put on their roller skates, and the sidewals really got dangerous, as the roller skaters were out of praqtice, and time-to time overrun some pedestrians, but everybody took it in good spriits... and a day of good fun was had by all!
BP Chick
BP Chick
Yes, a couple of them...
The real:
Planned to go to Paris by plane with my sister just for a long weekend a couple of years ago. Flight from Basel-Mulhouse to Orly early in the morning.
Arrived at airport. OUR flight and some others were cancelled. Some other flights to CDG already fully booked. AF said they had tried to inform us and said they weren't able, although they had the phone numbers of both of us (private and at work).
We were really mad, because we were only going for the weekend (Sat-Mon).
Anyway, they said they could book us on a flight from Strasbourg to Orly and would have us drive to that airport.
Alright, we agreed. We were driven in a nice Mercedes together with a US guy who had to catch a connection to the US. Not sure, he made it though.
Once in Strasbourg (nice airport, BTW), everything went smoothly. But we lost some 3 precious hours of our short weekend.
The almost real:
Was supposed to take the train from Gare de l'Est to Basel a late afternoon end of December. Strikes were announced. Went to an SNCF boutique near my hotel (close to Rue de Rennes) to ask for detailled info. They couldn't tell me.
Asked the hotel, whether they had vacancies for that night. Nope, fully booked. They said, I should just go to the train station and if everything should fail, come back. They would definitely find a place to stay.
Arrived at the station. Huge mess. No advertising about the trains, what track, if they were running. NADA! Some 10 minutes before the train was supposed to run, finally the track was on the large board and we left with a couple of minutes late.
The worst ever:
When I lived in Paris, a similar strike day to yesterday's was scheduled. I lived in St. Germain des Prés and worked at La Muette in the 16th arr. No métro, no bus, again NADA. And htat was before I had the car which I would have left anyway that day.
Decided to walk (no available taxis around) and arrived at around 10:30 AM instead of 9 AM. Same thing in the evening back home.
The real:Planned to go to Paris by plane with my sister just for a long weekend a couple of years ago. Flight from Basel-Mulhouse to Orly early in the morning.
Arrived at airport. OUR flight and some others were cancelled. Some other flights to CDG already fully booked. AF said they had tried to inform us and said they weren't able, although they had the phone numbers of both of us (private and at work).
We were really mad, because we were only going for the weekend (Sat-Mon).
Anyway, they said they could book us on a flight from Strasbourg to Orly and would have us drive to that airport.
Alright, we agreed. We were driven in a nice Mercedes together with a US guy who had to catch a connection to the US. Not sure, he made it though.
Once in Strasbourg (nice airport, BTW), everything went smoothly. But we lost some 3 precious hours of our short weekend.
The almost real:Was supposed to take the train from Gare de l'Est to Basel a late afternoon end of December. Strikes were announced. Went to an SNCF boutique near my hotel (close to Rue de Rennes) to ask for detailled info. They couldn't tell me.
Asked the hotel, whether they had vacancies for that night. Nope, fully booked. They said, I should just go to the train station and if everything should fail, come back. They would definitely find a place to stay.
Arrived at the station. Huge mess. No advertising about the trains, what track, if they were running. NADA!
Some 10 minutes before the train was supposed to run, finally the track was on the large board and we left with a couple of minutes late. The worst ever:When I lived in Paris, a similar strike day to yesterday's was scheduled. I lived in St. Germain des Prés and worked at La Muette in the 16th arr. No métro, no bus, again NADA. And htat was before I had the car which I would have left anyway that day.
Decided to walk (no available taxis around) and arrived at around 10:30 AM instead of 9 AM. Same thing in the evening back home.
I experienced a French strike...or La Grève as it is called. It was a couple of years ago and I was staying in a hotel off Av de L'Opera.It was scheduled for the day I was leaving and as usual it was not 100% guaranteed that the strike would take place. I only had a short trip to Gare du Nord for the train to London but I imagined that it would be impossible to get a taxi imagining the demand for them. I confided in the concierge and he arranged for a private cab to pick me up in the early am and all worked fine. The rail station was crowded as it should be on a work day AM and loads of normal taxis were discharging their passangers. I did have the thoughts that the premium cost of my special cab (and the extra tip to the concierge) were not necessary, but truthfully I was quite content to be on my way to England with no problems.
Have any of you a La Grève story to tell?
Have any of you a La Grève story to tell?