Editorial Board
Macron’s Battle to Put France Back on Track
Rail strikes were a predictable response to labor reforms. The president should stand his ground.
A test for the president.
Photographer: Vincent Isore/IP3/Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron's fight with public-sector rail workers will show how serious he is about economic reform. Unions are promising two days of disruption each week unless the president abandons his plan to expose the network to a whiff of economic reality. Macron should stand his ground.
A government-commissioned report published in February showed just how badly France's rail networks are failing. They receive 14 billion euros ($17.2 billion) in state subsidies each year, but still run an annual deficit of 3 billion euros. Their debt is 45 billion euros and rising. Despite these outlays, service quality -- already worse than in Germany and other European countries -- is deteriorating.