Some "Macron buses" are expected to strengthen Friday the public transport of Ile-de-France, very affected from Thursday by the strike against the pension reform. "The so-called 'Macron cars' will be able to circulate tomorrow (Thursday) between Saint-Denis and Massy by serving Paris intra-muros.We have ensured that the proposed tariffs are accessible," said Secretary of State Jean-Baptiste Djebbari Transport Wednesday evening. "We have obviously respected the regulatory framework," he said, referring to "15 to 20" coaches and noting that "discussions are still in progress".
>> READ ALSO - Transit Strike: What will be the situation in the big cities?
Why "Macron cars" will only be available from Friday
If it will theoretically be possible to roll these vehicles on Thursday, in fact, these buses will only circulate from Friday, according to their operators. Contacted by AFP, a spokesman for FlixBus said the German company would provide this service from Friday. "It will be free," he added, noting that the course was not finalized. This course will have to be lengthened, the distance between Saint-Denis and Massy via Paris does not exceed 30 km. By law, the "Macron buses" are not allowed to travel less than 40 kilometers in Ile-de-France.
A spokesman for the other operator of "Macron cars", BlaBlaBus (BlaBlaCar), indicated that he also would not launch this line Ile since Thursday, without saying more about the following days. Before the announcement of the Secretary of State, the CGT RATP had already protested against this initiative, deeming "useless because, who can reasonably believe that this type of measure would be able to mitigate, even minimally, (...) the lack of transport from December 5 "," dangerous "and" illegal ".
Government calls on VTC operators "not to raise prices"
Jean-Baptiste Djebbari also said on Wednesday that he had asked VTC operators "not to increase their rates." These will not be higher than a Saturday night, he added. On the public transport side, the RATP "put the package on the structuring lines", underlined its CEO Catherine Guillouard. For the metro, it is line 1 (east-west), 4 (north-south), 7 (north-east / south-east, with a wide circle in the center of Paris), 9 (towards Montreuil to the east) and 14 (north-west / southeast).
Eleven metro lines will be closed (2, 3, 3bis, 5, 6, 7bis, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 13). The 1 and the 14 - automatic - should work normally while the 4 and 7 will work partially, only at peak hours (from 06H30 to 09H30 and from 17H00 to 20H00), as well as a small end of the 9.
Some trams are expected to circulate, but the RER and SNCF commuter rail traffic will be skeletal and focused on rush hours. Remain the bus, rather less affected by the movement: the RATP plans to provide 30% of traffic, all day. Certain lines will be reinforced - in particular the 38, north-south axis Paris -, and others suppressed. All self-service scooter, bike and scooter companies, as well as car pooling and car-sharing platforms are also on the bridge to offer alternative solutions during the strike.