Talks fail to end French strike

French commuters have had more than a week of travel disruption

French commuters are facing a ninth day of travel chaos as a country-wide strike by transport workers continues.

National rail operator SNCF said more trains would be running, however, as support for the industrial action was dwindling among rail workers.

Union leaders said some progress had been made in talks with government and management officials on Wednesday.

But as talks began for the first time, arsonists sabotaged tracks and signal boxes on the high speed train network.

Signal boxes and electric cables running under railway tracks in several locations on the TGV network were set on fire early on Wednesday, causing even more delays to services already hard-hit by more than a week of strikes.

President Nicolas Sarkozy called for those who caused the damage to be punished with "extreme severity".

Strike vote

The overnight vandalism was carried out as managers from SNCF and the Paris public transport operator, RATP, held lengthy meetings with union and government representatives in the capital to try to reach a compromise.

There was no resolution to the crisis, but Didier Le Reste, head of the powerful CGT union's railway union division, said there had been a number of advances.

This is ludicrous! They are all a bunch of lazy people, and I am personally both enraged and ashamed at their behaviour! Sophie Pradere Paris resident

The strike was set to continue, however, unless transport workers voted on Thursday to call it off.

"I trust railway workers to take decisions that are appropriate," Mr Le Reste said.

The transport workers are striking over a government proposal to reform the "special" pension system that allows some 500,000 transport and utility workers to retire early.

The government says it will not back down over the reforms, but that it could offer incentives of salary rises and a top-up scheme for pensions.

Mr Le Reste has predicted that the negotiations could last up to a month.

President Sarkozy has urged protesters to go back to work, saying the strike had "already cost users - and strikers - so dear".

He has repeatedly said the strikes will not push his programme of reforms off course.

There has already been a gradual drift back to work with nearly 80% of SNCF workers on the job on Wednesday, the company said.

Despite the vandalism to the TGV system, 400 of 700 of its regularly scheduled fast trains were running on Wednesday, SNCF said.

Some local union committees have already voted to end the strike.