Paris  - A one-day strike by French railway employees has severely reduced train traffic throughout the country, the state-owned rail network SNCF said Tuesday.

Two of three scheduled high-speed TGV trains were running Tuesday, while regional rail traffic was reduced by half. In addition, about one of two scheduled trains connecting Paris with its suburbs were in operation.

However, Eurostar traffic between Paris and London and the schedule of the Thalys, which connects the French capital with Brussels, were not affected by the strike action.

The first national rail strike in France in a year was called by three trade unions to protest a planned restructuring of the SNCF's freight network. Unions fear it will lead to the loss of thousands of jobs. (dpa)