French train and metro drivers took their crippling transport strike into its 19th straight day Monday in a standoff with the government over pension reform, casting a pall over Christmas plans with many unable to reach loved ones.

French President Emmanuel Macron called on transport unions to suspend strikes during the Christmas holidays to avoid travel disruption, during his Sunday visit to Côte d'Ivoire. But the strikes vowed there would be no holiday truce unless the overhaul plan is scrapped.

Starting on December 5, the strike has hit daily commuters hard, especially around Paris and other large cities. And now, the strikes impede tens of thousands of ticket holders who had planned to spend the festive season with family or friends.

On Saturday and Sunday, the last weekend before Christmas, the SCNF rail operator provided half the usual number of TGV high-speed trains, a third of regional TER services, a quarter of inter-city trains, and one in five connecting Paris to its outer suburbs.

This sent thousands scrambling for alternative transport, with car rental agencies unable to meet the surge in demand.

Nor will there be reprieve for those staying in Paris from the stoppage that has slashed train and metro services and caused high levels of frustration on overcrowded carriages.

The SNCF announced that on Tuesday evening, Christmas Eve, it will halt trains between Paris and its suburbs. Some lines will reopen Wednesday morning, others only on Thursday, meaning many people will have to cancel plans to meet up with friends or family for Christmas lunch.

Talks between the government and Trade Unions last week failed to find middle ground. The union and others involved in the strike will meet with the government on January 7 to discuss the pension reforms and the talk is set to run through January, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe's office said Monday.

Public support holds but in decline

Unions are hoping for a repeat of 1995 when the government backed down on pension reform after three weeks of metro and rail stoppages just before Christmas, a cherished holiday for many French people.

But their action is taking a heavy toll on businesses, especially retailers, hotels and restaurants, during what should be one of the busiest periods of the year. Industry associations have reported turnover declines of 30 to 60 percent from a year earlier.

A poll by the IFOP agency published Sunday showed public backing for the action dropping by three percentage points, though 51 percent of respondents still expressed support or sympathy for the strikers.

Non-transport workers joined the protest Monday, shuttering at least one oil refinery and a petrol depot in the south, while others blocked a bus depot in the northwest. Electricity workers had also interrupted power to thousands of homes.

In Paris, protesters briefly held up Metro Line 1, which is one of only two lines unaffected by the strike as they are driverless, unlike the other 14.

On Monday, the leader of the Force Ouvriere union, Yves Veyrier, insisted the pension reform was a "historic error" and must be "discarded."

(With input from AFP)