Rail strike in France
Jun 8th, 2018, 08:34 AM
#181
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I presume you bought a FLEX ticket? I guess so, or you can't get a refund. It's up to you, but given you have a ticket and the conditions are refund are to request it before the flight, I'd personally wait at least a few days to do that. I understand wanting to get it taken care of, but once you cancel it, that's that. Your explanation of the train always running on strike days sounds pretty good, but still.
Jun 9th, 2018, 02:24 AM
#182
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Thanks Christina. You're right, I bought FLEX tickets and would like to get the refund out of the way asap, but I see what you mean. I fly out Tuesday evening, so it might be better to check the SNCF website and then cancel my tickets. With the time difference it'll still be midday for me. Thanks again!
Jun 10th, 2018, 05:24 AM
#186
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Dunno if this has been mentioned, but a good way to check on upcoming strikes is the website http://www.cestlagreve.fr/ (in french, but not difficult to figure out).
(Dukey, I'm in Paris later this month, until the 23rd. Any overlap?)
(Dukey, I'm in Paris later this month, until the 23rd. Any overlap?)
Jun 11th, 2018, 04:03 AM
#187
Oh, DonTopaz, how I wish but sadly, no. We fly in from Berlin (despite being repeatedly lectured about how taking the train is "a real journey" and flying is "just a trip") on the 30th for two opera nights (one at the Garnier and the other at the Bastille) and then on the train for Zurich and a couple of performances beginning on 1 July.
Jun 11th, 2018, 04:46 AM
#188
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Well, so much for the SNCF's guarantees! My friends who are in Paris now are holding tickets to travel to Bayeux tomorrow morning for an afternoon Overlord Tour. Up until now their train has been showing as "bookable" so we felt sure it would run. This morning we received an email from SNCF saying that their train had been cancelled and when I checked for any later ones I saw that there were no trains showing as bookable for tomorrow between Paris and Bayeux. All are marked "not available." Should we wait until 5:00 pm today to see if something else opens up or should she go to a train station now to try and change her tickets? I'd appreciate it if anyone could shed some light.
Jun 11th, 2018, 07:39 AM
#189
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I just came back from France. I got hit by the strike on two travel days. On one day, I had to travel one day earlier to avoid the strike day when I could not wait until 5pm to find out for sure if the train might run after all. When this happened, the train was full as if other people seemed to have done the same thing. On another day, coming back from Versailles was also on a strike day. One of a few trains who managed run on this day was packed full with standing rooms only.
Jun 13th, 2018, 10:03 PM
#190
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Just wanted to report back with our experiences. We took the TGV from Roissy CDG to Avignon yesterday, absolutely no problem at all. We had a rather long wait of almost 7 hours but that wasn’t too bad. We get my mother wheelchair assistance when she travels and we had to wait about half an hour at the Information desk till someone came over to take us by van to the train station.
At the station I bought myself a local SIM, I also walked over to the Air France sales desk at T2D to cancel my HOP tickets. About 20 minutes before the train departure another person came over to help take mom down to the platform and help her on the train.
All in all people were most helpful, both at the airport as well as at the station. We picked up our rental car and drove the short distance to Sarrians. The mistral’s been blowing but the place is lovely and we’re looking forward to our stay in Provence... Thank you for the tips and suggestions about the strike, you guys are the best 😊
At the station I bought myself a local SIM, I also walked over to the Air France sales desk at T2D to cancel my HOP tickets. About 20 minutes before the train departure another person came over to help take mom down to the platform and help her on the train.
All in all people were most helpful, both at the airport as well as at the station. We picked up our rental car and drove the short distance to Sarrians. The mistral’s been blowing but the place is lovely and we’re looking forward to our stay in Provence... Thank you for the tips and suggestions about the strike, you guys are the best 😊
Jun 18th, 2018, 07:39 AM
#194
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One of the SNCF employee unions, the CGT, just announced they want new strike dates for the 2, 6 and 7 of july. They are going to discuss it with the intersyndicale tomorrow, 6/19 (that's a collective group of several unions, I think it is the CGT, CFDT and FO). Those dates are sort of the beginning of the big departures for vacations. Le Monde also reports that they might focus future strike days during the negotiation talks in September, but likely won't have any for July and August (past the 7 of july).
Jun 18th, 2018, 11:36 AM
#196
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https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/arti...7138_3234.html
well, they also said they didn't strike that much during this current week so as not to inconvenience students who are taking the BAC this week, and only about 10 pct of SNCF agents aren't working this week. The BAC exams started today. That was nice of them.
well, they also said they didn't strike that much during this current week so as not to inconvenience students who are taking the BAC this week, and only about 10 pct of SNCF agents aren't working this week. The BAC exams started today. That was nice of them.
Jun 26th, 2018, 09:06 PM
#198
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Tomorrow is the last day of the strike period. 90% of the trains are running.
Two of the four labor unions have announced a strike for 6-7 July. The other unions have thrown in the towel. No other strike are expected before September.
Two of the four labor unions have announced a strike for 6-7 July. The other unions have thrown in the towel. No other strike are expected before September.
