Paris, January 30 (RHC)-- Thousands of railway employees have taken part in a rally in the French capital, Paris, against controversial reforms in the railway system.
On Thursday, the railway employees took to the streets of Paris to protest against the privatization of the railway system. The rally was organized by CGT (General Confederation of Labour) and Sud Rail unions.
During the rally, the protesters expressed concerns that the new policy of privatization has led to job cuts and negatively affected the quality of train services across the country.
French lawmakers voted for the reforms in the railway system on June 24, 2014, as part of government-proposed austerity measures that would bring the state-owned SNCF rail company and the RFF under one holding firm, while keeping their operations separate.
This CGT had already denounced the rail reforms and had organized a two-week railway strike in July last year, when the reforms were first proposed. The French government has said the privatization of the railway companies is inevitable due to their high debt.
Meanwhile, the French Transport Ministry predicted that the railway sector’s debt will soar to more than 80 billion euros by 2025 from the current 30 billion euros without implementing the proposed changes.
