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Air France pilots join embarrassing train, garbage strike

Paris - Up to a fifth of flights are canceled Saturday, Air France said, both domestic and international. Among those affected were flights carrying spectators to cities holding matches.

About a quarter of Air France pilots are striking to demand better working conditions - the latest challenge to travelers and France's image as it hosts Europe's biggest sporting event.
Weeks of strikes and demonstrations over the country's disputed labor reforms and other industrial disputes have led to panic at the pumps, violent protests in the streets and, most recently, garbage rotting in the gutters.
French leaders had hoped to put the disruption behind them as the country turned its attention to the European Championship soccer tournament, but unions are planning to keep up the airline strike through Tuesday, demanding better pay and more flight hours.
Up to a fifth of flights are canceled Saturday, Air France said, both domestic and international. Among those affected were flights carrying spectators to cities holding matches.
French train drivers have also been on strike for days; France's SNCF rail company was disrupted in the southeast, with cancellations possible. In Paris the rail link between the capital and Charles de Gaulle Airport was disrupted, with few trains running along the usually busy route.
Meanwhile garbage was piling up uncollected because of a continuing strike and blockages by collectors.
The strikes are occurring for different reasons, but the labor unrest is tapping into nationwide discontent as the government tries to change laws regulating working hours and layoffs.
The influential CGT union, which is driving much of the action, may meet with the government over the weekend.