SNCF strike: how are users organized?

Frédéric Michel and Manon Fossat 2:01 p.m., December 16, 2021

One in two TGV Sud-Est will run on Friday after a call for a strike by three unions and the failure of negotiations with the management of the SNCF.

About 50,000 travelers are affected by these disruptions and these train cancellations for departures on Christmas holidays.

They are therefore forced to organize themselves differently.

Europe 1 went to Nice station to meet them. 

The French "taken hostage"

To be sure of being able to celebrate Christmas with the family, many SNCF users have, when they could, put their trip forward.

This is particularly the case with Anna.

"I really had to take the train today or tomorrow. But today at least I'm sure," she reassures herself.

Others have not seen their program turned upside down because of the strike.

"I had planned to leave today and anyway I completely sympathize with the strike of the railway workers. I understand the current situation which is deplorable in the public services", affirms Blandine. 

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But in general, users of the Nice station are annoyed by the situation, like Aline, who is to catch a plane in Paris on Friday morning. "I was apprehensive but everything will stick. I will arrive in Paris tonight as planned. But I find it getting really painful. We do not understand. I find that they have still obtained some advantages lately and I think that it's going to be very hard because they don't seem to want to bend, ”she notes.

Dominique does not understand either why the French are each time, she says, "taken hostage".

"SNCF, they are still not the most unhappy in their jobs," she blows.

"It's been years that they put the little people in difficulty, those who go to work in transport. Because we think of Christmas, but not everyone is on vacation at Christmas," she raises.

For the time being, no traffic jams have been observed at the Nice station, but with the strike on Friday, the atmosphere should change on the platforms. 

No increase in the prices of alternative transport

Invited to Europe Midi on Thursday, Yvan Lefranc-Morin, Managing Director of FlixBus France, explained that he had observed an increase in traffic on his site.

"From 2 p.m., the time at which the strike was confirmed, we saw a very, very strong acceleration of reservations and visits to our site, for all departures on Friday and obviously Saturday and Sunday", observes- he does.

However, the company does not have the possibility of putting more buses in circulation to meet demand.

“Unfortunately we don't have this flexibility. 48 hours before departure, it's very complicated for us to change our initial transport plan,” he regrets.

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Moreover, all of the company's buses are not yet full, specifies Yvan Lefranc-Morin, and some people affected by the SNCF strike will be able to fall back on this solution. "We are looking to see if we can add offers for the following weekends," he announced before specifying that bus fares have not been increased in the face of the situation. "We have never touched our price list. The most you can pay this weekend costs exactly the same as if you had watched last week."

FlixBus France expects to see tens of thousands of passengers using its buses this weekend.

As for the traffic forecasts for the days of Saturday and Sunday, the two other days covered by this strike notice, they will be published later.