Subway users wait for a train in Paris, 19 Oct 2007

Commuters in France are coping with a second day of transportation delays Friday as some rail service resumes and two unions continue a strike.

Some trains started running again Friday, but there were still major problems with service on the Paris subway and regional trains.

Transportation and electricity workers called a 24-hour strike starting Wednesday night, crippling France's transportation system.

Unions oppose President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to reform pensions, but polls show that the majority of the French public supports the government.

Thursday's strike was France's biggest work stoppage in 12 years. Utility workers reduced electricity production, and thousands of strikers rallied in Paris protesting the reform plans.

The protests center on plans to eliminate special pension plans that allow certain workers to retire at age 50 with better income than found in the private sector.

Mr. Sarkozy was elected in May promising to revive the French economy and reform the so-called special regimes in the country's antiquated pension system.

An attempt in 1995 to curb French pensions triggered nationwide protests and weeks of paralyzing strikes, forcing then-Prime Minister Alain Juppe to abandon reform plans.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.