France

French rail officials say Friday’s deadly train derailment at a station south of Paris may have been caused by a detached rail joint on the track.

MESINGES, France — Six people were killed and dozens more injured after a train collided with a school bus that was blocking a grade crossing, authorities said. Five of the six killed were school children. “Five children were killed. Four passengers on the bus were seriously injured — it is not known if they are children or adults — and 27 children were slightly injured,” AFP news agency quoted an unnamed official as saying. The crash happened about 2 p.m. Monday, June 2, local time. More than 30 people were injured, and some of the injured may have been passengers

France is bracing for its second major transportation strike in a month, beginning Tuesday evening. From Paris, Lisa Bryant reports – although most French do not support the strike – it reflects wider discontent against reforms proposed by the country’s conservative government.

A massive transportation strike has crippled France, as public transportation and other workers took to the streets to protest pension reform plans proposed by the country’s center-right government.

Two trains have collided head-on in eastern France at Zoufftgen in the Moselle region of France, close to the Luxembourg border, at around 11:45 local time earlier today.

Thirty-four people had to be evacuated this lunchtime after a fire started on a lorry that was being transported on a freight train in the Channel Tunnel.