Sign up to create alerts for Instruments,
Economic Events and content by followed authors
Free Sign Up Already have an account? Sign In
Quotes
All Instrument Types
- All Instrument Types
- Indices
- Equities
- ETFs
- Funds
- Commodities
- Currencies
- Crypto
- Bonds
- Certificates
Please try another search
💎 Reveal Undervalued Stocks Hiding in Any Market Get Started
On your bike! Paris commuters take to two wheels to beat strike
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A man rides his bicycle past a poppy flowerbed in Cambrai during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in France May 14, 2020. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
PARIS (Reuters) - Paris commuters took advantage of the capital's newly expanded network of bicycle lanes on Thursday to pedal into town and bypass a public transport system severely disrupted by nationwide strikes against pension reform plans.
Workers across France walked off their jobs, leaving almost no local or regional trains running and wreaking havoc on bus and metro traffic in the capital.
But the 50 miles of new cycle lanes rolled out by Paris City Hall since the pandemic have helped Parisians beat the strikes by hopping on their bikes and scooters despite near-freezing temperatures.
"It's cold, but I've got my final exam at uni and that's why I'm taking my bike," Marinella Mighiglieri, a Peruvian student told Reuters on the Boulevard Sebastopol bike lane, one of the world's busiest according to the City of Paris.
"This strike is horrible, it never happens like that in my country, but here it seems natural. I'm getting used to it already," she said.
Paris now boasts more than 350 kilometers of cycle lanes after Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo invested more than 150 million euros into new bike infrastructure.
Bike lane traffic has often surged during recent strikes. The last Paris metro strike on Nov. 10 boosted bike lane usage by 80% from average daily use that month. Thursday's figures will be available on Friday.
On Rue de Rivoli, the famous thoroughfare running past the Louvre Museum, throngs of cyclists teemed through Paris.
Camille, 34, said she cycled home after she had to shut down her restaurant in the central business district for the day because of the strike.
"It's really annoying. Everybody is remote-working so I'm losing the day's business," she said.
Another commuter, who had to get an Uber (NYSE:UBER) bike at Gare du Nord station after struggling to reach the capital from the northern suburbs, had little sympathy for striking workers.
"It's horrible. They're a real pain the arse," she said, giving her name only as Lola.
Not all cyclists were cursing the strikers, however.
"It's been a real journey, but it's OK, it feels nice on the lanes," Emy Facconier, 26, said. "The strikes are fair. "In truth, I understand why they strike."
Related Articles
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
Report this comment
I feel that this comment is:
Comment flagged
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.