Travel during the Christmas period within France will be complicated by a strike by train guards from French rail company SNCF. The SUD rail union says that it will push ahead with the strikes and around a third of trains will be cancelled.
There is still some good news for travellers. In an interview with Franceinfo, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs Christophe Fanichet assured that passengers who have their train cancelled will receive a 200% reimbursement of the value of their ticket. According to Fanichet, the strikes are set to cost “several tens of millions of euros.”
“I want to apologise to the company. A strike for the Christmas holiday is really unacceptable, I’m angry,” he said.
SNCF has already conceded to the train guards’ demands for higher wages, offering a €600 bonus as recognition of their work and a 5.9% salary increase across the company. The union had until 19 December to accept this offer. With the deadline now being missed, the Christmas strikes will go ahead as normal.
Lesser impact on international links
On 23 December, two in three TGV services will run along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, and only one out of two trains will run in the North. The Paris-Lille line should operate without interruption. TGVs between provincial stations are likely to be heavily impacted.
SNCF has insisted that the strike will have minimal impact on international rail services to and from France. Three out of four trains bound for Switzerland will run and two out of three to Italy.
Three in four Ouigo trains should also circulate. Intercity trains should run normally, despite initial reports of cancellations.
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The SNCF promises that travellers will be able to exchange their tickets online free of charge, even if their train is cancelled, without needing to pay fees or any price difference, so long as customers can find seats. Unfortunately, most trains are now fully booked ahead of the Christmas weekend.
No information is yet available for strikes on 24-25 December, but the SNCF says to expect even heavier disruption.
In another potential disruption to French holiday travel, two unions have called for strike action by Air France flight attendants from 22 December to 2 January. It is unclear whether these strikes will go ahead.
