SNCF strike: “The objective is to ensure one in two TGVs” this weekend, declares the boss of SNCF Voyageurs

The SNCF controllers' strike this weekend will seriously disrupt traffic. “Not all trains are going to leave,” admitted Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs, speaking to Franceinfo this Wednesday, February 14. “The objective is to ensure that one in two TGVs runs,” he said.

The boss of the railway company, on the other hand, said he was “confident” about the possibility of “departing as many trains as possible in the snow”. “The second priority is that there are as many TGV Ouigos as there are TGV Inouis,” he added. Christophe Fanichet also assured that “almost all of the children” taken care of by the “Junior” service

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The final transport plan should be announced at 3 p.m. this Wednesday, February 14, while the unions announce that seven out of ten controllers will be on strike this weekend.

Also read “I am disappointed”: the French are organizing in the face of the probable SNCF strike this weekend

All travelers should be contacted during the day by SMS to find out whether or not their train is being maintained. For those whose train is canceled, there is still the possibility of exchanging their ticket. “In most cases, you will be able to leave this weekend if you postpone your trip by a few hours,” certified Christophe Fanichet. There are still some places." This Wednesday, however, most of the TGVs for Thursday evening and Friday are displayed as full on the SNCF website.

For those for whom an exchange is impossible, they can always have their ticket refunded. The CEO of SNCF Voyageurs said he was working “on exceptional compensation”. In December 2022, when a strike paralyzed part of France for the Christmas weekend, 200% compensation was put in place by the SNCF.

Faced with the controllers' strike movement, the CEO of SNCF Voyageurs kept repeating his incomprehension. “We had promised additional positions, they are present. We had promised salary increases, they were increased by 20% on average in three years,” listed Christophe Fanichet for whom “all the commitments” promised to railway workers during previous negotiations “were kept.”

For his part, Gabriel Attal reacted this Wednesday morning, estimating that “the French know that the strike is a right”, but “also that working is a duty”. The Prime Minister deplored “a form of habit, each [time] the holidays arrive, of having the announcement of a strike movement” of the railway workers, adding that “it is also the image of the SNCF which takes a hit each time.”