Railway strike to continue up to Christmas in France

Paris, Dec 24 France's national railway company SNCF said it has reached an agreement with the country's labour unions to avoid further strikes over the New Year's weekend.

However, travel will still remain disrupted this weekend, with roughly one in three high-speed TGV trains cancelled, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to local media, SNCF's management has agreed to "strong" measures to improve the recognition of the profession of conductors, the creation of more jobs and future promotions.

The strike that started on Thursday will continue until December 26, but the planned follow-up strike between December 30 and January 2 was called off.

The labour action has left an estimated 200,000 passengers unable to travel.