French transport strike spreads

PARIS, France -- Commuters have suffered further chaos in France after bus and tram drivers joined train workers in strike action across the country.

Marseille was badly hit and Lyon, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Toulouse and Montpellier were among other main cities where urban transport ground to a halt.

The industrial action came as France's train strike moved into its 15th day, although rail staff in some cities have returned to work.

In the southern port city of Marseille, only six buses ran out of a morning fleet of 350. Trams were completely stopped and only some metro trains were in service.

Marseille is also a centre for the continuing train strike, which dissident unions are backing despite drivers in many other parts of the country returning to work.

Most of France's high-speed TGV lines and main lines are now operating normally. And in central Paris commuter services were operating normally.

But in the greater Paris region two suburban train lines were running below normal levels -- as were trains leaving three of the capital's five main stations

There were also delays and cancelled trains in Alsace, Lorraine, Burgundy, France Comte in the east and Auvergne in central France, according to the state railway SNCF. Normandy, the Calais region, Provence and the Riviera were also affected, it said.

Freight services are also "heavily disrupted," said SNCF.

Trade unions and transport operators were due to meet in Paris to discuss drivers' demands for better retirement packages and the right of workers to retire at the age of 55.

Bus drivers also say that increasing attacks against them at night and in some neighbourhoods make their job risky.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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