Transportation in France has been stalled by a workers' strike, just as an international delegation has arrived to evaluate the capital city as a possible site for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Rail traffic, subway lines and even some buses and flights to and from Paris are affected by today's strike, called by workers' unions to protest government labor and economic reforms. The public subway is the hardest-hit, with only about a quarter of the usual number of trains running.
Meanwhile, officials from the International Olympic Committee have begun a three-day visit to Paris as they evaluate a number of different cities as possible sites for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
The unions have pledged support for bringing the Games to Paris and they say the strike was not purposely timed to coincide with the IOC visit.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Bloomberg.
