November 5 national strike Paris transport disruptions, Digi Mart USA News (Île-de-France, France): On Thursday, following a national call to strike to defend wages and employment, SNCF announced disrupted traffic on its national network and in Île-de-France. RATP, meanwhile, expects normal traffic on the metro, bus and tram, except on RER Line B.
SNCF said in a statement that, as part of the national interprofessional social movement, SNCF Voyageurs train traffic on Thursday, November 5 will be slightly disrupted on TGV routes and disrupted on Intercités, TER and Île-de-France trains and RER services. Line-by-line traffic forecasts will be detailed Wednesday late afternoon, the company said.
All TGV and Intercités customers whose train is cancelled will be contacted and may exchange or obtain a refund for their ticket at no cost, SNCF added.
The four representative unions of the national rail company, CGT, Unsa ferroviaire, Sud Rail and CFDT, issued a joint call for a 24-hour strike on November 5, joining the national movement. Their demands concern catching up with inflation for SNCF wages.
More broadly, rail unions denounce a “regressive budget” that they say will worsen poverty, cut Social Security, freeze civil servant wages and drain resources for the ecological transition.
In Île-de-France, RATP said it expects “normal traffic” on its metro, tram and bus networks. Only RER Line B will be affected in the region.
On the RER lines it operates, traffic will be normal on Line A and disrupted on Line B, which is jointly operated by RATP and SNCF. RATP will also publish more detailed forecasts Wednesday.
“If the Paris police prefecture asks us to close stations, that does not prevent trains from running,” an RATP official stressed.
During Saturday demonstrations by high school students, university students and yellow vest protesters, the prefecture had requested the closure of several dozen metro stations to protect access to certain areas of the capital.
