The company Eurostar, 55% owned by SNCF, which provides rail links between London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, has been hit hard in recent months, both by Brexit and travel restrictions linked to the Covid-19 health crisis.

Brexit, health crisis and now the English variant of Covid-19 ... all the lights are red for Eurostar, which has seen its traffic fall by 85% in 2020. And restrictions have been tightened in recent days on the French side, with isolation and then a mandatory PCR test for any return from the UK.

Eurostar is 55% owned by SNCF, and has so far received no aid, neither in France nor in England.

Concern is mounting on both sides of the Channel over the sustainability of the train, which makes it possible to travel between Paris and London in just over 2 hours, and whose journeys are now done in a dribble manner.

There is only one daily round trip at the moment, compared to a dozen normally.

Employees who work on trains find themselves with almost nothing.

"I remember a train where there were three of us working for three passengers in business class. I have only made five or six trips since March", reports Nathalie, employee on board the trains.

"We cannot let a company like Eurostar perish, that is not possible!"

Despite partial activity, Nathalie loses several hundred euros per month since, usually, her salary is supplemented by bonuses.

She hopes that with the vaccination, trafficking can resume.

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"Today, Eurostar is on a drip"

But in the meantime, Eurostar is in a particularly precarious situation according to Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs.

"Today, Eurostar is on a drip, the company is in a very critical financial situation," he admits to Europe 1.

Eurostar's problem is being a French company in England and an English company in France.

A loan from the English government is under consideration but so far nothing has come to fruition.

What forced a group of London business leaders asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson for quick financial support for the company which operates routes between London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.