“The RATP invites all travelers who have the possibility to postpone their trip on the network”, advised the public group on Wednesday.

“In anticipation of the very strong disruptions announced on the lines operated by the RATP on Friday February 18, Ile-de-France Mobilités calls on all Ile-de-France residents who can to telecommute”, added the regional transport authority.

"We invite companies to use teleworking as much as possible", added the Minister Delegate for Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari.

The transport plan communicated by the RATP will remind Ile-de-France residents of December 2019, and the great strike against the pension reform, the last of a magnitude, just before the pandemic and the massive entry of telework into the lives of employees.

Eight metro lines will be completely closed: 2, 3bis, 5, 7bis, 8, 10, 11 and 12, in addition to 3 between Havre-Caumartin and Gallieni, and 6 between Etoile and Bercy.

On lines 4, 7, 9, 13 and on the remaining portions of 3 and 6, traffic will only be provided during peak hours, from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with at least one train out of two, one in four at worst, and some stations will be closed, such as Alésia, Concorde, Gare de l'Est, Place de Clichy or Stalingrad.

A crowded Paris metro car in December 2019 during a strike at the RATP Philippe LOPEZ AFP / Archives

The two automatic lines 1 and 14 will operate normally, the RATP warning against a "risk of saturation".

For the RER, the Régie plans one train out of two at peak times and one out of three at off-peak hours, between 5:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., on its part of lines A and B. The interconnection will be interrupted at Gare du Nord with trains from north of the line, on the SNCF side.

purchasing power

On the tram side, the T8 will operate normally, and the other lines will be more or less disrupted, the T2, T3a and T3b only running at certain times on part of their journey.

As for buses, some lines will operate normally (Orlybus and Roissybus, 20, 31, 35, 38, 45, 47, 54, 95, 101, 113, 124, 125, 131, etc.), others will be disrupted, d others finally completely interrupted.

All of the representative trade union organizations (CGT, FO, Unsa, CFE-CGC) and almost all of the others have called for a strike, to influence wage negotiations: a multilateral negotiation session is precisely scheduled for Friday morning, in the framework of the mandatory annual negotiations (NAO).

Travelers get out of a crowded Paris metro car while others wait to enter it, in December 2019 during a strike at RATP Philippe LOPEZ AFP / Archives

RATP management promises that its employees will not lose purchasing power.

She reaffirmed on Monday a proposal to increase remuneration by 2.7% on average in 2022, adding that "the profit-sharing could be higher than that of previous years" (around 1,000 euros net annually).

The trade unions obviously did not hear the same thing, since the management would, according to them, have put on the table only an increase of 0.4%.

"A provocation", according to them, after two years of pandemic during which the employees of the Régie responded by ensuring the continuity of public service.

Added to this is inflation, which should exceed 3% in the first half according to INSEE.

"Yet the management is turning a deaf ear", denounced Bertrand Hammache, general secretary of the CGT-RATP.

The CGT, the group's leading union, is asking for a 3% annual increase over the next three years.

Same thing on the side of Unsa for which 3% is a minimum given the level of inflation.

FO for its part filed an "unlimited strike notice" from Friday, because "inflation and the price of energy which are exploding are also causing havoc".

Explanation made, the 0.4% proposed by management only concerns cross-functional measures that affect all employees, to which must be added advancement and seniority (+1.8% on average) and categorical measures (+0.5%).

Ile-de-France Mobilités has set up free carpooling, accessible from its application.

© 2022 AFP