And the public is less likely I think to support a strike by SNCF workers who is my French friends and in-laws are representative of French at all are already considered overpaid and under worked - though this has changed I think in the past few years with concessions by the cheminots and other railway unions.

But I remember a joke that my French son once tole me - a popular joke:

Three kids each talking about what their papa did and what time he gets home for work

One says my papa works as a police man - he leaves for work at 8 am and gets off work at 5pm and is home by 6pm.

Another says my papa works as a floor manager at Carrefour - he leaves for work at 8 am, gets off work at 6 pm and is home by 7pm.

The third says "my papa works for the SNCF (French Railways) - he goes to work at 8 am and gets off work at 5pm and is home by 3 pm!"

So I think things have been tightened up but for years the SNCF workers were seen as yes paid a lot for little work - in fact when the 35 hour work week came in it was found that many SNCF workers only worked 32 hours or so a week!

Again things have probably changed but railway workers going on strike like kerouac says could mean no job at all.

That said my ex-wife flew home last summer and there was a train strike when she landed and it took her all day to get to her home in Orleans using the few trains that were running and she said there was another strike a few months ago.

Quelle blague! J'aime les francais.