TRAVEL chaos during the World Cup is seemingly spiralling out of control and threatening to overwhelm next week's opening.
Yesterday, French train drivers, conductors and engineers announced strikes, and Air France pilots - and baggage handlers - continued their stoppages.
Thousands of Scottish and English fans trying to plan their journeys now face disruption in the run-up to the tournament as well as during the month-long event which kicks off on Wednesday with Scotland v Brazil.
Today, Metro and suburban transit workers will stage a partial 24-hour strike over pay and conditions, and conductors in three unions at national railway SNCF are due to strike from tomorrow night until Sunday evening. Other threats include:
q The Independent General Federation of Train Drivers, which represents 30% of drivers, announcing its members will walk out for 36 hours from June 9, the eve of the opening game. It also threatened to prolong the strike if ''not satisfied with wage negotiations'';
q The larger Communist-led CGT rail union plans a one-day strike tomorrow - and may stop work during opening round matches on June 16, 17, and 18, which includes Scotland v Norway in Bordeaux; and
q SNCF engineers announced plans for a June 10 strike, the day the World Cup opens.
Meanwhile, baggage handlers in a wage dispute at Charles de Gaulle Airport were on the second day of their strike, and passengers scrambled for their luggage.
French train engineers plan walkouts on days still to be set; and Air France mechanics have threatened to walk off the job over pay differences in its merger with Air Inter.
There was little sign yesterday of a breakthrough in further talks between Air France pilots and management to end their four-day walkout, with most planes already grounded for three days.
The pilots, among the world's highest paid, have said strikes will continue until after the tournament starts in a bid to block 15% salary cuts for some members in return for share options in the state-controlled company.
Air France, the official World Cup carrier, is committed to transporting teams to the 10 competition sites around the country - and may have to employ outside carriers to meet obligations.
Union leader Jean-Charles Corbet warned the dispute will probably be ''long, tough, and devastating for the balance sheet''.
Airline president Jean-Cyril Spinetta, now faced with a two-week stoppage, said he remained firm on objectives, and added: ''I can't imagine that the pilots, at the moment where the world's eyes are turned to France for this great celebration that is the World Cup, will paralyse the country.''
France's Socialist-led government is increasingly worried the country's reputation will be tarnished by the dispute.
Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot criticised the ''lack of civic-mindedness'' among pilots, added he felt ''sadness, almost shame'', and went on: ''France could show itself as a nation that can't organise a world event any more.''
Meanwhile, an Islamic guer-rilla network has been unravelled in France, according to Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement - who also told of a huge security net thrown around the World Cup.
Three more suspected terrorists were arrested in the Paris region yesterday to complete a round-up of alleged fundamentalist militants plotting attacks during the tournament.
They can be held for up to four days without judicial action. Already, 16 people are under formal investigation - one step short of being charged - for alleged plotting, and France has issued four international arrest warrants for guerrilla suspects.
q ScottishPower chiefs are trying out a new invention to cope with the demand for a cuppa if Scotland do well in the World Cup. So many people rush to put the kettle on after a game that it could cause an electricity overload.
However, a new system could stop the power generated from blacking out the country, it was revealed yesterday.
Scottish Hydro-Electric is the first electricity company in Britain to try out the high-tech PowerNet system in 500 sites, soon to spread to 2000 customers.
The system allows the electricity provider to switch off power from idle sources to create enough reserve for millions of kettles. A signal is sent through the National Grid to stop the power going to, for instance, heating systems in offices, swimming pools or freezers.
It will switch them off for about half an hour immediately after a major game and the extra power will be stored for the clicking on of millions of kettles .
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