Rail services in France were still severely disrupted on Sunday due to a controllers’ strike that forced the national company SNCF to cancel 60% of its trains.
As on the previous day, only 4 trains out of 10 were circulating on the high-speed TGV network as on the intercity network (Intercités) on Sunday, an SNCF spokesman confirmed to AFP.
At the train station of Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, the tracks for TGVs were deserted at the beginning of the day. The first train was scheduled for 1:36 p.m., followed by four more in the afternoon.
Surrounded by his three suitcases, Marc Kufess expresses his anger: He arrived from Togo at 9:30 a.m. and only found out about the strike and the cancellation of his 11:24 a.m. train to Mulhouse (East) when he landed.
SNCF leadership announced on Friday that “new meetings” would be held next week with unions and controllers, primarily calling for better recognition.
Several unions that have supported the movement have announced a strike over the Christmas and New Year weekends to put pressure on SNCF.
Amid fears that this movement could disrupt end-of-year celebrations, delegate Transport Minister Clément Beaune called for “collective responsibility” on Saturday. “Let’s work to avoid this in the next few days (…) I’ll do everything at my level,” he assured.
The almost 10,000 SNCF train attendants, of whom almost 3,000 work on the TGV and Intercités, have an essential role in terms of traffic and passenger safety. The trains cannot run without them.
Beyond salary issues, the pilots feel “abused” and demand better consideration and improvement of their working conditions, Fabien Villedieu, SUD Rail union representative, told RMC on Saturday.