The Minister of Public Accounts Gérald Darmanin said Monday that the state will make a "financial gesture" to SNCF to help it cope with the loss of revenue linked to the health crisis, estimated at 4 billion euros by the boss of the group. "If - and there are - revenue losses arose from the strikes in December and then from the Covid of this period, we will be at the rendezvous of this great national enterprise", declared on BFM TV / RMC Gérald Darmanin , who will receive Jean-Pierre Farandou, the CEO of the railway company, "in the coming days".
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The latter estimated Sunday at four billion euros the cost of the Covid-19 crisis for his company. If we add the loss of turnover linked to the strikes against the pension reform, estimated at one billion euros, the shortfall for SNCF is some 5 billion euros since last December.
"The State has always been there"
"There will be a financial gesture from the State, whether directly with the SNCF or with institutions that work with the SNCF", like the regions, said the Minister of Action and Public accounts. "The State has always been there" for SNCF, he said, recalling that he had recently taken over part of his debt.
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In detail, during the confinement period, only 7% of TGVs operated. The SNCF also "recorded significant shortfalls on the trains of daily life", according to the boss of the group. And the recovery is only gradual, "very far from the speed of the restart observed after a strike", according to him.