A spokesman for the General Labour Confederation (CGT), the biggest union representing workers at the French state rail company SNCF, said the momentum for a new strike could not be resisted.

The strike call was issued by the CGT and one other union after a meeting of all six unions at SNCF failed to reach a consensus on when and what form their industrial action should take.

The CGT spokesman added that no further inter-union talks were planned.

The management of the SNCF said they had received notice of a strike from 1900 GMT Wednesday to 1900 GMT Thursday.

The CGT branch representing workers at the RATP Paris metro operator has already announced plans for a strike on Wednesday.

A spokesman said members were disappointed by the progress of negotiations launched at the end of a crippling 10-day national rail strike last month.