French rail unions threaten to strike ahead of Christmas

PARIS

Trade unions at France's railway operator SNCF has called for an indefinite strike from next month that could disrupt train services during the upcoming Christmas holidays.

The unions are demanding a moratorium on the dismantling of Fret SNCF, the freight division of the national rail operator, and protesting against the terms and conditions for opening up regional lines to competition.

In a joint statement, the CGT-Cheminots, Unsa-Ferroviaire, Sud-Rail and CFDT-Cheminots unions said on Nov. 9 the action would begin on Dec. 11.

The unions also reiterated their call for shorter strike action from Nov. 20 to 22.

Industrial action at SNCF has repeatedly disrupted travel during school holidays.

In February, train controllers went on strike during a holiday weekend, leaving 150,000 people stranded. A Christmas strike in December 2022 affected some 200,000 holidaymakers.

In 2023, the European Commission announced an in-depth investigation into whether France breached EU rules on state support by subsidising the freight division of SNCF.

The French government launched a restructuring process which will see France's top rail freight company disappear on January 1, 2025 and be replaced by two separate companies, Hexafret and Technis.

The plan was negotiated by the French government and the European Commission to avoid a reorganisation procedure that could have led to the outright liquidation of the company, which employs 5,000 people.