Paris was gripped by travel chaos today as train drivers went on strike following a vicious, unprovoked assault on one of their colleagues. Commuters were dangerously crammed into stations and trains as they desperately tried to get into work and then home, causing pandemonium across the French capital. Frustrated workers took to social media to reveal the scenes as the city's public transport system struggled to cope with the millions of extra stranded people. Commuters were seen walking up central panels of escalators in desperate attempts to keep out of the crush, while other pictures revealed crowds  at a complete standstill. Scroll down for video . Desperate: Commuters walk up the central panels of escalators on their way to catch trains in a bid to avoid the crowds after drivers went on strike following an assault on their colleague . Chaos: As commuters sought alternative routes home, Saint Lazare station in Paris was swamped with tens of thousands of extra people struggling with travel plans . Crush: Twitter users uploaded shots of the chaos when the extra passengers at Saint Lazare station caused an immense rush hour crush after train drivers went on strike . Drivers on the RER Line A refused to work on Thursday  after a colleague had his nose broken when he was headbutted by an angry passenger on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday night. It is understood the passenger had his hand stuck in the door and set off the train's alarm system which alerted the driver - who was then attacked before the passenger fled. Striking staff have demanded extra security when they work before they return to the tracks. The Line A is one of the busiest in the world, carrying an estimated 1.2 million people per day across the French capital. As commuters sought alternative routes home, Saint Lazare station was swamped with tends of thousands of people struggling to make their way home. Thierry Babec, Secretary General of the UNSA-RATP union, said: 'The drivers have seen their colleague assaulted for no reason. Their first instinct was to not return to work out of solidarity. 'The workers aren't machines and we can't pretend that nothing happened. Once these emotions have calmed down, work will resume as normal.' Alain Vidalies, French Secretary of State for Transport, said that while he sympathised with the victim of the attack, the strike 'did not constitute the right response'. Standstill: Frustrated commuters were caught in the crush after train drivers refused to work in support of their colleague. They are demanding extra security before they return to work . Crammed: The city's transport authorities laid on extra buses to ensure commuters could get to work, but they were also packed out as they city struggled to cope . Extra buses were running in the city to try and ease the problem, and more trains were also running on the other lines that were still operating. It is also understood that the problems escalated when there was a derailment on the RER Line D and another incident on the RER Line C which caused trains to slow. The RER Line A travels from the north-west to the south-east of the city, covering 67 miles and 46 stops. Authorities in the city are desperately trying to resolve the issue and convince the drivers to return to work on Friday morning. Pierre Mongin, head of the RATP Group, which manage public transport in the city said criticised the strikers. He said: 'A spontaneous interuption of services, without respect to the rules around strike warnings, is not an appropriate reaction for this kind of situation,' he said, before apologizing to commuters while at the same time condemning the 'unacceptable' attack on the driver. Popular: There are five RER lines which carry an estimated 783 million people per year all across the French capital .
Commuters trapped in chaos after strike that continued all day .
Unnamed driver has nose broken in vicious assault on Wednesday night .
Drivers refuse to work out of sympathy for hospitalised colleague .
Incidents on two other lines in French capital contribute to chaos .
Authorities desperately hoping normal service is resumed on Friday .
Paris was gripped by travel chaos today as train drivers went on strike following a vicious, unprovoked assault on one of their colleagues. Commuters were dangerously crammed into stations and trains as they desperately tried to get into work and then home, causing pandemonium across the French capital. Frustrated workers took to social media to reveal the scenes as the city's public transport system struggled to cope with the millions of extra stranded people. Commuters were seen walking up central panels of escalators in desperate attempts to keep out of the crush, while other pictures revealed crowds  at a complete standstill. Scroll down for video . Desperate: Commuters walk up the central panels of escalators on their way to catch trains in a bid to avoid the crowds after drivers went on strike following an assault on their colleague . Chaos: As commuters sought alternative routes home, Saint Lazare station in Paris was swamped with tens of thousands of extra people struggling with travel plans . Crush: Twitter users uploaded shots of the chaos when the extra passengers at Saint Lazare station caused an immense rush hour crush after train drivers went on strike . Drivers on the RER Line A refused to work on Thursday  after a colleague had his nose broken when he was headbutted by an angry passenger on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday night. It is understood the passenger had his hand stuck in the door and set off the train's alarm system which alerted the driver - who was then attacked before the passenger fled. Striking staff have demanded extra security when they work before they return to the tracks. The Line A is one of the busiest in the world, carrying an estimated 1.2 million people per day across the French capital. As commuters sought alternative routes home, Saint Lazare station was swamped with tends of thousands of people struggling to make their way home. Thierry Babec, Secretary General of the UNSA-RATP union, said: 'The drivers have seen their colleague assaulted for no reason. Their first instinct was to not return to work out of solidarity. 'The workers aren't machines and we can't pretend that nothing happened. Once these emotions have calmed down, work will resume as normal.' Alain Vidalies, French Secretary of State for Transport, said that while he sympathised with the victim of the attack, the strike 'did not constitute the right response'. Standstill: Frustrated commuters were caught in the crush after train drivers refused to work in support of their colleague. They are demanding extra security before they return to work . Crammed: The city's transport authorities laid on extra buses to ensure commuters could get to work, but they were also packed out as they city struggled to cope . Extra buses were running in the city to try and ease the problem, and more trains were also running on the other lines that were still operating. It is also understood that the problems escalated when there was a derailment on the RER Line D and another incident on the RER Line C which caused trains to slow. The RER Line A travels from the north-west to the south-east of the city, covering 67 miles and 46 stops. Authorities in the city are desperately trying to resolve the issue and convince the drivers to return to work on Friday morning. Pierre Mongin, head of the RATP Group, which manage public transport in the city said criticised the strikers. He said: 'A spontaneous interuption of services, without respect to the rules around strike warnings, is not an appropriate reaction for this kind of situation,' he said, before apologizing to commuters while at the same time condemning the 'unacceptable' attack on the driver. Popular: There are five RER lines which carry an estimated 783 million people per year all across the French capital .
drivers went on strike following a vicious, strike following an assault on their colleague . Thursday  after a colleague had his nose broken the outskirts of the city on Wednesday night. It first instinct was to not return to work out of trains were also running on the other lines that stops. Authorities in the city are desperately drivers to return to work on Friday morning. per year all across the French capital .