Good news, Belgium and France are coordinating themselves for the next strike.

Dear Sir or Madam,

We inform you that SNCB plans a strike on October 8 and 9 of 2015 and, SNCF plans a strike from October 7 to October 9 2015.

Regarding SNCB, strike will run from October 8, 10PM to October 9, 10PM of 2015.
Thalys recommends travelers to postpone their journeys.

Regarding SNCF, strike will run from October 7, 7PM to October 9, 8AM of 2015.
We recommend travelers to check their travel schedules on Infolignes SNCF website before going to the station.

For any changes to your travel itinerary, you can contact your BCD Travel counsultants.

Sincerely,

I wish I had read this post on Sept 29th. We got to spend an extra day in Paris. I think the garbage strike upset me more. It was hideous in some places, the varmits were having a feast.
PS. Just want to say I appreciate your input and to suggest you find a french fodors forum was rude. The ugly american shows their head once again.

Such people do not even realise that Fodor's is German-British owned and that is one of the reasons that we have freer speech on this forum than on the one of the major competitor.

We had to spend 2 extra days in Paris last hear because of the Air France strike. The garbage strike this Oct only hit selected areas. Right Bank/downtown garbage was piled 5 feet high and a circumference of about 20 feet in places. No strike in the 7th, where we stayed.

Stu Dudley

There are 4 waste collection companies with contracts in Paris, each for a certain number or arrondissements. The 18th arrondissement was not affected either.

There was a piece on tonight's news about the horrendous rodent infestation affecting all of Paris this year. The city has put out much more poison than before, and as a result, they have collected many more dead rats and pigeons than before, but there are still more rodents in public places than they have seen in many decades. Maybe it's time to call in the Pied Piper - or get more cats.

Of course, there are a lot more people eating on the run and having picnics than ever before, too. No excuse to not pick up after yourself, though!

Thanks for these nice posts.

I really don't mind some rude US posters. It increases my level of anti-americanism by a nano point for a millisecond.

Mvg. (met vriendelijke groeten = best regards).

NYC is over run with rats, huge ones. I did not walk close to a garbage container or the piles on the sidewalks. I know the big crows on our street were having a feast. I was in the 14th and it was bad.

pariswat - what is the issue the strike is about - how do you think it will be resolved or will there be lingering strikes like Germany suffered the past year before calm returned?

a huge hassle for folks with trips all planned out every minute.

Those dates are 3 weeks ago.

And I might add that SNCF service was nearly normal during that strike. The SNCB strikes have been much more serious.

Pariswat (or any of you Fodorites who live in France or travel there frequently)- for those of us that will be relying on train transportation to leave Paris, do you think it's a good idea to have an International Driver's Permit so that I can rent a car as a back-up plan, in case of another strike next year? Seems like the strikes are pretty common.

We've rented approximately 42 cars in France since 1999. Nobody has ever asked for an IDP. Rental agencies have not, late night border patrol has not, breath testers have not. We have never been stopped for an infraction or had an accident, however.

Stu Dudley

I concur with StuDudley. The so-called obligation for an IDP is apparently only enforced for people who act like complete jerks if they are stopped. And in a case like that, you had better also have your reflective vest and triangle within reach of the driver's seat, etc.

Those dates are 3 weeks ago.>

Oops - lost track of time!

There aren't really that many strikes of any nature, and they don't normally drag on for weeks on end in France. Those of us who live here just make do, and it isn't really that difficult. If it's your first time renting a car in Europe, I would recommend taking things a little more seriously than the locals do. You won't need an IDP, but pay attention to the breath-a-lyzer, check the updated speed limits, parking regulations, rules of the road, using phones in the car, etc. No sense asking for trouble or risking an accident because you weren't informed.

Ok thanks for the advice.