A strike appears to be in the works for May 22. It will possibly/likely interrupt train operation.

My dilemna: Our apartment rental in Paris ends May 22. Our b&b stay in St-Paul-de-Vence begins May 22. We have TGV tickets from Paris to Nice that day, with a reservation to pick up a rental car in Nice.

I just don't know what we should do. Should I try to switch the rental car pick-up to Paris and drive all the way to St-Paul?

Should I wait and see what happens? If I wait, will all the Paris rental cars be booked by others with similar problems?

Whoops - "dilemma"

This is a tough one, as strikes in France are not necessarily guaranteed ...but you are at risk.

One option would be to book one-way flights on a cheap airline like Ryanair from Paris to Nice area...

But what I would do is to book your car rental to start from Paris....that way you will definitely get out of town in the event of a strike, and you can work your way down to SPdV over two days...at least you are sure of that option.

If on the 21st or 22nd there is no strike, then just change your car res and take the TGV down.

If there is a strike, you can apply to get your TGV tickets refunded and you will still have your holiday unspoiled by the possible labour disturbance. Rouss

We're facing a similar dilemma. I am wondering if car rental will be an issue. If people have to rent cars to make up for the TGV trains, will they all be gone? If so, we are in trouble because we'll be stuck in Alsace with no way to get back to Paris! Hopefully others with some experience in this will have more ideas for you.

Any comments to help those of us arriving at Paris CDG on the morning of 23rd? We planned to taxi into the city - is this an issue? As a backup, will shuttles like the Roissybus to Opera be running?

I might be able to help by telling you what happened to me last October 18th, which was the first day of a transportation strike.

I arrived at CDG on the morning of the 18th with a reservation for a shuttle (can't recollect which one, but the instruction was to call their number on arrival). I called many times over a 15 minute period while waiting for my luggage; the line was always busy. I instead took a taxi, joining a queue that looked long but moved quickly. It was an easy run into the Gare de l'Est, where I held a reservation on a TGV to Reims.

As I expected, most TGVs were cancelled. There were some running, but I didn't see any going to Reims or points east. I instead stayed the night in a hotel across from the station.

Next morning, I walked over to the station and asked a SNCF person about trains. He told me that service was being slowly restored and that if I held a ticket on a train that had been cancelled, to simply climb on the first one leaving that morning. I was on board the first one that day to Reims, leaving about 11:30 am. No one came through the train to check tickets.

So, in my one-time experience: taxis were plentiful at CDG during the SNCF/TGV/RATP strike; SNCF put trains back into operation as quickly as they could the next day, but it was impossible to predict when they would be running; there wasn't any issue about needing to swap my ticket for a new one, I just got on the first available train.

No guarantees it will work that way next time around.

Laurallais, I'm not a big fan of driving the length of France. If I were in your situation, I'd try to book a flight from Paris to Nice for the 22nd. Another possibility would be to stay the night of the 22nd in Paris and catch the first TGV the next day, but timing to meet your apartment rep and to pick up your rental vehicle in Nice might be very difficult to predict.

Anselm

Transportation will be disrupted, not interrupted. It is a one day strike.

If you are worried and prefer to drive, reserve your car immediately. Is your train ticket fully refundable? If it isn't refundable and the train is not running, it will be refundable anyway. If you abandon the ticket without knowing if your train will be running or not, you may lose a considerable amount of money.

The SNCF announces train service expectations 24-48 hours before a strike. In any case, there would always be SOME trains running between Paris and Nice -- but you may have to stand up on the train or sit on your baggage in the aisle. However, the trip would be free.

I rented a car to pick up at the Gare Lyon Europcar. I requested a pick-up time a half hour after our train is supposed to leave. That way we can try for the train first, then head to the rental office if the train doesn't run.

Now I am trying to line up a taxi to take us from our apartment to the station.

Should I be doing anything else.

Thanks for the feedback so far.

I have a TGV reservation from Marseilles to Paris on May 23 at 7:43 am. I've heard that a 24 hour strike means 8 am to 8 am. A SNCF counter person confirmed that but said they have received no notice of a strike on May 22. Does she know more or less than she admits?? How definite are plans for a strike?

I'm also concerned. We're holding TGV tickets r/t Paris-Avignon 5/21-24.

Kerouac, you noted that it's only a one-day strike. In your experience, do the unions generally stick to their word in these instances? Sorry to be a nervous Nellie, but if they were to extend their sympathy strike for some reason, we'd really have to scramble - especially as hotel reservations have been made.

bumping for any strike news

Strikes are for "one day" or "reconductible". No union has used the "R" word regarding this strike.

Merci.