French railway unions have agreed to talks on pension reforms, offering the first hope to thousands of commuters that an almost week-long public transport strike might ease.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Paris to protest the five-day-old strike, but French state-owned railway company SNCF and the Paris metro operator said rail services would continue to be disrupted for a sixth day tomorrow.
Six unions, including the militant Sud Rail that is not officially recognised, said they had agreed to talks with SNCF on Wednesday after first consulting their members.
But the unions stopped short of formally recommending an end to the strike, and few expect any return to normal until after a separate public sector workers protest on Tuesday.
"There will be a representive of the government if there a return to work has momentum ... if more trains and metros are running," Employment Minister Xavier Bertrand told Europe 1 radio, without fixing any numerical criteria.
The SNCF said it expected 300 out of 650 fast TGV trains to run tomorrow, up from 250 today. Eurostar trains to London should be normal, while three out of four Thalys trains to Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne are planned, it said.
Paris metro operator RATP said it expected "practically no" trains on routes too and from the capital's airports.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Paris to protest the five-day-old strike, but French state-owned railway company SNCF and the Paris metro operator said rail services would continue to be disrupted for a sixth day tomorrow.
Six unions, including the militant Sud Rail that is not officially recognised, said they had agreed to talks with SNCF on Wednesday after first consulting their members.
But the unions stopped short of formally recommending an end to the strike, and few expect any return to normal until after a separate public sector workers protest on Tuesday.
"There will be a representive of the government if there a return to work has momentum ... if more trains and metros are running," Employment Minister Xavier Bertrand told Europe 1 radio, without fixing any numerical criteria.
The SNCF said it expected 300 out of 650 fast TGV trains to run tomorrow, up from 250 today. Eurostar trains to London should be normal, while three out of four Thalys trains to Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne are planned, it said.
Paris metro operator RATP said it expected "practically no" trains on routes too and from the capital's airports.