Transport Strike Brings France to a Halt

PARIS — The French walked, used bikes, shared cars, or took the day off yesterday for the biggest national public transport strike since 1995. Unions said the strike will continue today.

Service on most trains on the national network, metros in Paris, and buses in major cities ground to a halt after public workers went on strike to oppose a government plan to roll back their pension privileges. About 319,000 people at railroads, power and gas utilities, schools, and the postal service failed to turn up at work. The special pensions cost the state about $7.1 billion a year.

The stoppage marks the first union challenge to President Sarkozy, elected in May on a platform of cutting taxes, reducing the cost of pensions, and liberalizing labor. The pension changes require employees to work 40 years instead of 37 1/2 years to earn a full pension. Pensions will also be linked to the national statistics institute's price index. Mr. Sarkozy wants the plan completed by 2012.