French strikes

Paris (AP) - Strikers paralysed railway services across France and blocked an airport runway, while stranded commuters threw stones and occupied a town hall and railway station in the Paris region.

Railway workers were protesting against the conviction of two colleagues involved in a fatal rail crash in 1988. Air France flights were reduced by about 50 per cent after employees walked out over the airline's plans to lay off 4,000 people by 1994 to cut operating losses. About 100 workers blocked the runway at Nice airport.