France woke up on 29 September to one of the largest public-sector walk-outs since 2024, as a coalition of unions representing teachers, firefighters, postal staff, rail workers and civil servants staged a 24-hour stoppage to demand higher pay and protest a proposed freeze of the civil-service wage index in the 2027 budget. More than 150 marches are scheduled nationwide, with the main Paris demonstration leaving Place de la République at 14:00. For mobility managers the headline is disruption breadth rather than depth. While the state-run rail operator SNCF expects high-speed TGV and Intercités services to run almost normally, regional TER frequencies are trimmed and some RER commuter lines in Île-de-France are operating on reduced timetables. Paris public-transport authority RATP warns that several central Metro stations—including Bastille and Temple—will close from noon for security reasons, complicating airport connections and intra-city meetings. Airports are also affected: the DGAC has ordered modest flight cuts (see separate story) and warned of potential knock-on delays. Schools, unemployment offices (France Travail) and some municipal administrations are either closed or operating a skeleton reception service, which could affect residence-permit appointments, driver-licence swaps and other administrative tasks critical to expatriate onboarding. Companies with internationally mobile employees are urged to brief travellers on alternate routes, confirm the status of visa and carte-de-séjour appointments, and consider remote work options for the day. Experience from previous one-day strikes suggests that backlogs at prefecture counters and delivery services can linger for 48 hours, so relocation timelines may need minor adjustments.
Source: The Local France
