French Christmas Transport Strikes: ‘Tis the season … Here’s what you need to know about travel in France over the coming weeks and the risks of Christmas transport strikes.
Public Dread Mounts as Holiday Tickets Go on Sale
The French transport unions have a habit of throwing a spanner in the works of people’s Christmas travel plans.
“It’s a Christmas tradition”, TF1 Television declared last year.
Now, the media – and the nation – are getting nervous about the spectre of Christmas strikes.
For Le Figaro, “the Christmas strike is another great holiday classic” of the SNCF national railway.
“Behind the rush for Christmas holiday tickets, which went on sale this week, lies a fear for passengers: the traditional holiday strike,” the paper reported.
With 1.6 million tickets sold on October 1 alone, the SNCF say there have been record sales for the holiday season, from December 14 to January 7. 5,000 tickets sold a minute, wrote Pierre Gorges, “that’s the equivalent of 10 TGV trains being filled per minute”.
Bordeaux, Marseille, Strasbourg, Montpellier, and Lyon are the most popular destinations, said the SNCF in a press release.
The photo in Le Figaro’s report showed a group of men in Christmas hats during last year’s strikes. One had a sign which read: “SNCF: We are waiting for our grandchildren to join us for Christmas. Angry grandparents .”
Da Da Da Da … Will French Christmas Transport Strikes Spoil the Holidays?
The risk is real. The rail unions have been known to spectacularly ruin thousands of people’s Noels. In 2019, the longest strikes in three decades continued for a month … over Christmas and into the New Year.
While people in France generally support such social action by rail workers, they lost patience amid the reigning chaos.
As I wrote for Forbes, the refrain “Will there be trains at Christmas?” echoed the title of a 1996 film – Will It Snow for Christmas? (Y aura-t-il de la neige à Noël?)
The strikes have left the public collectively traumatised about holiday season travels.
In early October, short-lived strikes by unions representing workers from the SNCF and the Paris public transport operator, RATP, caused minimal disruptions.
All You Can Do is Stay Informed – and Have a Plan B
If a French Christmas transport strikes hit, so will mayhem, and you, like all other French commuters, will be powerless. All you can do is stay informed … and have a backup plan. I will do my best to keep you informed of any developments.
Before your travels, monitor the SNCF’s updates on any traffic disruptions here. For the RATP, check its real-time traffic alerts. These include all Greater Paris train, tram and bus lines as well as the Metro.
Meanwhile, and I truly hope things turn out well, bon voyage!
Let’s hope the French transport gremlins deliver Christmas presents, not curses.
(Or, as a true blue Australian would say: I hope they deliver Chrissie pressies, not curses.)
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