The CGT Cheminots and Sud-Rail unions have called the strike – which started at 8pm on Tuesday, November 16th and runs to 8am on Thursday, November 18th – as they demand an increase in wages which have been frozen for several years.

Long-distance rail services are unaffected by the walkout, but French rail operator SNCF said in a statement that it had been obliged to adapt regional schedules and urged users to only travel if necessary.

The strike coincides with annual pay negotiations, with unions demanding ‘significant’ increases. “[SNCF] management would like to impose in 2021 a seventh year of salary freeze. However, profits [are] increasing … at the same time, the cost of living has continued to increase in recent years,” CGT Cheminots and Sud-Rail said in a statement.

Regional rail schedules across the country are affected;

• In Ile-de-France, 80 percent of trains will run as scheduled on the RER B during peak hours on Wednesday and 75 percent during off-peak hours.
• RER D will operate three services out of four.
• Just 50 percent of services will run on Transilien line N.
• A ‘normal’ service is operating on Line R, but services from Melun to Montereau via Héricy, Seine-et-Marne, will be provided by an alternative bus service.

SNCF expects to operate six out of 10 services on its IO trains in Occitanie, with disrupted services partially replaced by alternative bus services. The walkout has also affected regional services between Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Occitanie.

Some TER lines will be disrupted in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region, with the rail operator maintaining 73 percent of its TER services. Substitute bus services will replace cancelled trains.

SNCF has said most regional services will operate in Auvergne Rhône Alpes – though some have been replaced by an alternative bus service.

Meanwhile, 85 percent of the Rémi and Rémi Express network will operate as scheduled in Centre-Val de Loire, though some interruptions and cancellations are expected.

The latest information is available on the SNCF regional website, which can be accessed from this link – click Changer de Région at the top left to find your local area.