“It’s always the same thing with the SNCF”: at Montparnasse station, the exasperation of travelers in the face of the strike

Few suitcases, few trains and almost no controllers: this is how the start of the day could be summed up in one of the busiest stations in France, Montparnasse. The strike followed by SNCF controllers during this weekend of vacation departures and returns paralyzes traffic throughout France. Enough to arouse the annoyance of many users. This is the case of Christine, 62, freshly arrived from Reunion Island and who was planning to return home peacefully to the west coast. “I landed early this morning in Paris. When I arrived at the station, I learned that my train to Lorient was canceled,” she relates, disappointed. And added: “I didn’t even receive an SMS to warn me. It's great when you've just had an 11-hour flight and all you want to do is go home." Fortunately for the Lorient resident, the SNCF miraculously found her a place on a train at 11 a.m. Not everyone will be so lucky.

For her part, Leila must go to Brittany to attend the baptism of her godson. But the thirty-year-old will have a hard time reaching her destination. Although she confirms having “received a message the day before” to warn her that her train was canceled, the young woman was unlucky, “I missed the 7:40 a.m. train, it left before my eyes”. Accompanied by her two sons Marvin and Rayan, she had to pay a high price to take one of the only trains running this morning to Brest, i.e. “more than 125 euros per ticket”. The mother says she is stressing about her return to Paris on Sunday: “I’m crossing my fingers that I can come to work Monday morning.”

Also read: No train because of the SNCF strike? Here is the traffic forecast on the roads this weekend

The lucky ones who had a train maintained this Friday morning still had to organize themselves. Manon, an 18-year-old student, wants to join her family in Pau for the holidays. With a “train canceled on Saturday”, the SNCF offered him to leave today. For the young Parisian – who says she is “annoyed” – this means “missing her day of classes”. On the escalators, Denis, a fifty-year-old who is returning to Nantes for the weekend, confides that he “put down an RTT” this Friday to get his train.

Despite the resignation of some, most of the people we met nevertheless displayed relative confidence. Those who have made the trip are sure of having their train. As a result, the ticket office is almost deserted on this strike day. Barbara, a forty-year-old heading to Montauban, says she is “extremely lucky”. Her train to Tarn-et-Garonne, one of the only ones of the day, is being maintained, she tells us with a smile in a café at the station. Jean-Louis and Evelyne, a couple from Val d'Oise, have had a train for Toulouse planned for more than two months. If they also consider themselves “lucky”, retirees on the other hand appear fatalistic. “It’s always the same thing with the SNCF, strikes every holiday. In the end, it’s always the same people who toast.”

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As for traders, this Friday morning also has a special flavor. Claire, a saleswoman at Relay, doesn't have many people to deal with. She appears very surprised: “usually Fridays are bustling. This is our best sales day. This will not be the case today.” Before continuing: “customers are calmer than usual, they have certainly anticipated their trips.” Martine and Nathalie, both salespeople in a sandwich shop, readily share this observation. While preparing meals, they anticipate “a catastrophic situation for lunchtime”. They also point to the screens which are already showing the early afternoon trains. “Normally at 9 a.m., you can see the trains leaving within the hour. There, we already see those who leave at 1 p.m. as there are almost no trains,” confides one of them.

Also note the few SNCF agents present at the station. Despite some OUIGO train departures, it is difficult to obtain information for travelers. The few employees present refused any comment “on orders from management”. A situation experienced by this American tourist who came to visit France with his wife. “We had already come to France in 2018 and there were already strikes. This year it starts again.” But, optimistic, he prefers to take the situation with a smile: “it’s vacation, no stress!” Not sure that all travelers this weekend will embrace this philosophy...