French rail unions threaten Christmas strikes
The unions are calling for a halt to the dismantling of Fret SNCF, the national rail operator's freight division, and are protesting the conditions for opening 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, News.Az reports, citing Hurriyet .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.
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