A crippling French transport strike dragged into its 39th day on Sunday despite the government’s offer to withdraw the most contested measure of the pension reform plans that sparked the protest.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Saturday he would drop plans to increase the official retirement age to 64 from 62 in an effort to end a strike which has paralyzed Paris and its suburbs, with bus, train and metro services all badly disrupted.

“I am willing to withdraw from the bill the short-term measure I had proposed,” said Philippe, prompting his boss, French President Emmanuel Macron, to dub the change “a constructive and responsible compromise.

The more reformist trade unions — the FDT, Unsa and FRC — welcomed the announcement and said they were now ready to work with employers on the sustainable financing of the state pension system.

The Unsa union for national railway workers maintained its strike call on Sunday while recognizing the government’s reconciliatory move.

The union “remains on strike ” but will return to the negotiating table, secretary-general Didier Mathis told AFP. However, the more hard-line CGT, FO and Solidaires unions were standing firm, calling for the strike and protests to continue, including a major demonstration on Jan. 16.

French rail operator the SNCF said it expected services to improve on Monday. Nine of 10 high-speed TGV trains would run on French and international routes, it said — and commuters in and around Paris could expect 7 out of 10 trains to operate.

CGT head Philippe Martinez played down the impact of the CFDT and Unsa’s readiness to resume negotiations, and spoke of internal splits within these groups.

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