Passengers stranded as French strikes cause railway chaos

A major railway strike in France has brought high-speed trains to a halt, leaving passengers stranded. The strike also poses the biggest test so far for President Emmanuel Macron’s economic strategy, AP said. The SNCF national rail authority said about 12 percent of trains were running on Tuesday, in the first of a series of strikes set to last three months. Traffic was also disrupted in the morning on Eurostar lines to Britain and trains to Germany, though most trains are running as normal. Rail workers are protesting against government plans to eliminate worker protections – part of Macron’s broader program to make France “more globally competitive.”