PalenQ

French friend just emailed that the SNCF or French Railways will stage a strike on June 10 (2014) and if that strike does not satisfy their demands they will again go on strike June 20.

So if traveling by train those days in France beware of a potential work stoppage.

The problem with French trains these days is you never can be sure of traveling on a certain date as strikes perhaps will intensify as train unions are asked to give up concessions, which of course they are loathe to do.

PalenQ

http://www.thelocal.fr/20140604/sncf...r-rail-reforms

Strike could drag on for days possibly it seems...

DonTopaz

This is a feature of traveling in France any time, any year, in May and June. The Right to Strike (Le Droit de Grève) is not only very much part of French culture, it's in their Constitution. It's merely coincidence, I'm sure, that the French take advantage of this right about a gazillion times more often in May and June than in, say, November or February.

Bill_H

As long as those cheese-eating surrender monkeys don't strike on July 12 or July 20 I'm cool with it

Christina

Don, do you have actual stats on that? Because it doesn't seem to me they strike often in May, not that I can recall. It seems to me it is most common in the Fall. It is usually related to when some law is being passed or when something is affecting a union contract. IN fact, they did just strike last February for a couple days in the Rhone Alps area, and there was also a strike in January. The good thing is it is usually only some of the lines and a day or two.

tom18

When we were in France a few years ago, we were told that, by law, the railroad unions had to declare by 5 p.m. which specific trains they would strike the next day. When we checked, we found that the train we were scheduled to take the next day would not run. So that enabled us to switch our plans and take a different train that did run.

PalenQ

I would think that strikes may intensify if the unions do not get their demands met - Hollande is bent on reining in public spending and the national railway is obviously a tempting target - in boom years they got super great contracts and are afraid of losing some of their plums (so says my French friend who told me about the strikes in the first place) - if they are at loggerheads then expect more strikes - like Carvile said "it's the economy stupid."

People with discounted train-specific tickets should ask what happens if there is a strike - will they be automatically put on other trains on any dates, etc or will they get a refund, etc.

kerouac

Although I doubt that these strikes will even happen due to the total demotivation of the working class at the moment, I am nevertheless happy to have train trips planned for the 15th and 16th with nothing to worry about.

Hardly anybody ever goes on strike when the summer holiday period is near. That is something that is done after summer vacation.

Moomer11

I was just going to purchase train ticket for June 22-should I wait ? Do they refund ?
Thanks.

Askar01

<i>The Right to Strike (Le Droit de Grève) is not only very much part of French culture, it's in their Constitution</i>

I would never trade my constitutional Right to strike for your Right to bear arms. Strikes dont kill people.

http://rt.com/usa/usa-children-gunshot-incidents-279/

PalenQ

I think the French have a Right to bare arms? J'espere!

PalenQ

I was just going to purchase train ticket for June 22-should I wait ? Do they refund ?
Thanks.>

a conundrum though I would think per comments from locals above that it all will be solved by then but you never know - a problem with depending on the SNCF to actually have trains operating on your line on any given day currently.

PatrickLondon

Today, sccording to TV news in Paris, they're predicting normal service on RER A, but only one train in 3 on other RER lines (including the line from Charles de Gaulle airport), and reductions of service on Thalys and TGV trains.

You can check individual lines here:
http://www.infolignes.com/index.php?lang=en