French train strikes enter 6th day

Paris : The nationwide railway strike in France entered its sixth consecutive day on Friday despite President Emmanuel Macron vowing to not back down on labour reforms that provoked the industrial action.

Macron has pledged to make the country's state rail company SNCF more competitive by, among other things, simplifying the hiring and firing process, an initiative unions fear could make it harder to hold to account legal challenges, reports Efe news.

The government said the SNCF needed deep reforms to address its escalating debt, which stood at $56.5 billion at the end of 2017.

Friday's train strikes were less intense than previous days, with roughly 38 per cent of the core workforce on strike compared to 48 per cent in previous days.

Due to the disruptions, many people fell back on private transport, leading to huge traffic snarls.