Striking transport workers slowed France to a crawl Wednesday morning as commuters, unions and the government dug in for a pivotal standoff over President Nicolas Sarkozy's bid to strip away labor protections he says are stifling growth. Railroads around the country were empty after workers for the SNCF rail authority launched an open-ended strike Tuesday night. Paris transit workers joined Wednesday morning to protest plans to raise their retirement age. Paper signs reading "No Service" dangled at subway stations and bus and tram stops citywide. The highway circling the city was at a standstill well before dawn. Many commuters walked, biked or rode children's scooters to work under gray, drizzly skies.

Gas and electricity workers went on strike Wednesday, too, threatening targeted blackouts to illustrate their grievances over the retirement reform. University students and other workers are also putting pressure on Sarkozy's conservative government as it plans a volley of reforms aimed at trimming bureaucracy and cutting costs to make France more competitive.

Unlike the scattered strikes that have long marked France, this labor movement will likely be decisive. Sarkozy has personally led this reform push and has put his credentials as a reformer on the line. If he triumphs, the long-powerful trade unions may be forever scarred.

Opinion polls suggest Sarkozy has the public on his side this time, as most agree with his arguments that the rules that allow certain public employees to retire early are outdated, unfair and too costly.

But the head of one of the toughest unions, CGT-Cheminots, dismissed any mention of concessions. "The ball is in the government's camp," its general secretary Didier le Reste said Wednesday on Canal+ television.

Labor Minister Xavier Bertrand was meeting with unions Wednesday.

Sarkozy, meanwhile, stressed "his determination to carry out this reform," presidential spokesman David Martinon said Tuesday night.

The SNCF rail network said only 15 to 20 percent of trains on major lines would run during the strike, and warned that that traffic would likely be disrupted through the weekend and urged travelers to postpone their trips.

Paris' public transit authority RATP said there would be almost no trains on most subway routes starting Wednesday. One line - the north-south line 14 - ran normally because it is automated.

Parisians shared cars, stayed home or rented one of the more than 10,000 bikes recently installed around the capital. They proved extremely popular during another transit strike last month, when the number of daily users doubled to 180,000.

Organizers of the rent-a-bike program planned to dispatch 260 workers armed with metal cutters to snip the padlocks employed by people who may try to hog the bikes all day. The bikes are designed to be used for short trips, with rental prices skyrocketing as the clock ticks to deter riders from hoarding the bikes.

Electricity workers said they would cut power at local offices of Sarkozy's conservative UMP party, and they also planned "Robin Hood" operations - restoring power to households that cannot afford their electricity bills.

The Comedie Francaise theater and Paris' National Opera - whose employees also stand to be affected by the pension reforms - canceled Wednesday performances.

University students also have voted to go on strike to protest a new law aimed at making public universities more competitive by giving them the right to raise tuition and accept private donations.

Written By ELAINE GANLEY