PARIS (AFP) - French commuters faced serious travel disruptions from a one-day nationwide strike that was also expected to ground hundreds of flights from Paris' two main airports. France's civil aviation authority predicted that 175 short- and medium-haul flights would be cancelled from Orly airport south of Paris and 212 from Roissy Charles de Gaulle north of the capital. No disruptions were expected on long-haul flights.In the capital, around one underground metro trains in two were operating, while only one third of suburban trains were in service. Outside the greater Paris area, transport authorities said that 40 percent of regional services were up and running as well as 60 percent of high-speed intercity lines.
Outside Paris disruptions were also reported in southeastern Marseille, eastern Lyon, and in Nantes, Rennes and Rouen in western France.
As well as transport workers, around half of all teachers were also striking, and most post offices and government buildings and some banks were to remain shut while most national newspapers failed to appear.
Five of the country's biggest trade unions called the stoppage to protest policies the centre-right government has brought in to invigorate France's sluggish economy and to push for public sector pay rises.