Chloé Lagadou, edited by Romain Rouillard 8:37 p.m., December 22, 2022

Due to a strike by SNCF controllers, nearly 200,000 French people have to deal with the removal of their train, 48 hours from Christmas Eve.

The bus is one of the preferred fallback solutions to such an extent that the crowds are rising in the bus stations.

Europe 1 went to that of Bercy in Paris.

Travelers who pile up on the quays, their eyes riveted on the billboards to avoid spending Christmas alone.

This Thursday evening, some of the 200,000 SNCF users, deprived of the train due to the controllers' strike, gathered at the Bercy bus station in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. 

Élise and her companion are waiting for their bus to head for La Roche-sur-Yon in Vendée.

The couple was forced to buy their tickets at the last minute and therefore at exorbitant prices.

"There, the bus, we had to add 119 euros. It's a bit expensive for a bus trip, but at the same time, car rentals, we couldn't find any. So it was a bit only way to go back to spend Christmas with our family. So we made the choice to pay more to be able to go back", testifies the young woman.

It must be said that some companies have seen their reservations jump by 25% in recent days. 

“I was supposed to take three hours, I will take six” 

For travelers, this means overpriced tickets and extended travel time.

Layla will take twice as long to get home.

"I was supposed to take three hours, I'm going to take six. I'm going to arrive at midnight in Nantes, it was a bit of a hassle. I was supposed to arrive tomorrow so there I have to warn my family so that they can pick me up at midnight. Level organization, it's really not the easiest," she laments. 

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Despite everything, these travelers accept these difficult conditions.

Especially Thomas whose family Christmas was non-negotiable.

"I'm going to my family's for Christmas because otherwise I had to celebrate Christmas alone in Paris. So here it is, I don't have much choice".

From now on, users are worried about their return trip.

All hope that their train will run well as planned.