PARIS — There was just one day left before Christmas Eve, and the mood inside the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris on Monday was tense.

Travelers, many with shopping bags laden with gifts, were waiting for trains that might never come. Striking rail workers suddenly marched into the station, chanting noisily, followed a few minutes later by scores of police officers in riot gear.

“Usually, 15 of us get together for Christmas, but this year it’s just going to be my wife and me," said Florian Cercea, 28, whose train had been delayed by several hours. “Christmas comes only once a year, and it’s very important for my family.”

He added: “It’s going to be a sad Christmas. It means, even if we have presents, we can’t give them to the children. I guess we’ll give them next year after the strike is over.”

Exactly when the strike — over the government’s push to overhaul the nation’s generous pension system — might end remains up in the air. Despite President Emmanuel Macron’s call for a “truce" during the holidays, the three-week general strike that has crippled transportation in France and already hurt its economy has now upended people’s plans.

In the final countdown to Christmas, the work stoppage was jeopardizing traditional family gatherings and meals of roasted capon for travelers in the Gare de Lyon and elsewhere across France.

“Because of the strike, I might end up with no holiday or meal,’’ said Michel Esmingeot, 65, who had walked five miles to the station only to find that his train was delayed by several hours. “I’m not even sure there is a train. I’ll sleep in the train station if I have to and try again tomorrow. I don’t want to end up alone on Christmas.”

Late last week, government officials and labor union leaders failed to reach an agreement to end one of the biggest general strikes in decades. Since Dec. 5, it has shut down most of Paris’s public transportation network, forcing thousands to squeeze into the few running trains, or to commute by bike and scooter or on foot.

Transportation workers have taken the lead against the government’s plans to eliminate special retirement plans and create a universal points-based system, as part of an effort to encourage the French to work longer.

After meeting with the government last week, Philippe Martinez, the head of the General Confederation of Labor, one of the largest unions opposed to the changes, gave no indication of backing down and demanded the withdrawal of the government’s plans.

“We haven’t changed course,” Mr. Martinez said.

Union leaders have scheduled a national day of strike on Jan. 9. But some labor officials said it was necessary to keep up the pressure during the holidays.

On Monday, hundreds of strikers protested near the Gare de Lyon, and some set off smoke bombs inside the metro station and clashed with the riot police.

Despite the inconvenience, the majority of the French population remained behind the strikers, though the level of support has dipped a couple of percentage points. According to a poll published Sunday in Le Journal du Dimanche, 51 percent backed the strike and 34 percent were opposed, with the rest expressing no opinion.

In a continuing battle over public opinion, both the government and the unions have tried to capitalize on the public’s frustrations over the holiday disruptions.

Over the weekend, the national railway company and the unions pointed fingers at each other when rail officials announced the cancellation of a service allowing children to travel alone on certain trains.

Company officials said that a lack of personnel because of the strike had given them no choice. Union officials said that workers accompanying the children were contractors who were not on strike, and accused company officials of “using children and their families to try to discredit” the strikers.

The Christmas plans of at least 5,000 children were at stake.

The railroad company eventually announced that it had secured 14 TGV trains to transport the children from Paris to Lyon, Marseilles, Bordeaux and other cities.

Mr. Macron, who was in Ivory Coast over the weekend as part of a visit to West Africa, tried to take credit. “Solutions were found in response to our demands, in particular for the young children traveling alone," Mr. Macron said at a news conference in Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s economic capital.

Mr. Macron said the Constitution allowed the unions to strike.

“But I believe that there are moments in the life of a nation when it’s also good to know how to call a truce to respect families and the lives of families,” he said, adding that respect was due those who “were separated and want to get together during the holidays.”

On Monday, only two of five TGV trains were operating, with regional express trains also having limited service.

At the Gare de Lyon train station, many travelers were unsure whether they would make it to their final destinations.

“It’s already a miracle that I was able to come here this morning,” said Samir Abdou-Eid, 68, who had managed to squeeze into a crowded commuter train from a suburb to the station, but arrived to find that his morning train to Montargis, about two hours southeast of Paris, had been canceled.

He was not sure whether there was another train for him.

“I’ll sleep tonight in the station if I have to," said Mr. Abdou-Eid, a bag filled with chocolates and a cuddly toy rabbit and bear for his grandchildren at his feet. “I want to spend Christmas with them.”

Asked about the strikers, Mr. Abdou-Eid held his nose and said, “No comment.”

Others expressed support for the strikers even though their holidays had been severely affected.

The strike had wreaked havoc with Eric and Yolaine Ramond’s plans to travel six days earlier, forcing them to adjust twice.

On Monday, they were finally able to take a TGV from their home in Valenciennes, in the north of France, to Paris, where they were hoping to catch a train south for a family gathering.

“We’re just a week late,” Mr. Ramond, 58, said, adding, however, that he fully supported the transportation strikers.

“The government is trying to rob them of something,” he said, referring to a special pension plan enjoyed by some transportation workers. “So they have to show that they’re not sheep. Of course, it’s inconveniencing us, but I support their right to strike.”

“It’s the only way for them to be heard," Ms. Ramond, 57, said, though she added that she had been “frustrated” by the six-day delay.

“I was fine," her husband said. “As long as we get there, it’s fine — but not after the holidays.”

Source: Read Full Article