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STRIKES

IN DETAIL: How transport and services in France are affected by Thursday’s strike

Unions have called for a 'general strike' in France on Thursday, demanding wage increases to cope with the cost of living. Here's how the strike action has affected public transport and other sectors.

IN DETAIL: How transport and services in France are affected by Thursday's strike
Photo by Geoffroy Van der Hasselt / AFP

What are the demands?

Although it was originally called as a demo over the rising cost of living, unions are also denounced renewed plans by Emmanuel Macron for reform of the French pension system – “Increase wages, not retirement age” is now the general demand. 

The inter-union group that is organising the strike is calling for salaries to be indexed at a rate of at least 10 percent for civil servants. The government previously increased the rate by 3.5 percent, but unions say that this “falls short of the urgent need to raise all salaries” and “preserve living conditions of all.” 

Because the mobilisation is across several sectors, there are more specific demands within each field, but most return to the question of the cost of living crisis.

It’s also unlikely to be the last such demonstration as tensions mount over the proposed pension reforms.

“This is a first step for us. There will have to be others,” warned Philippe Martinez, secretary of the hardline CGT union.

When and where will mobilisation take place?

Industrial action is taking place across the country on Thursday, September 29th, with a one-day strike notice filed. Unions have a meeting planned on October 3rd to discuss further actions.

How widespread will the mobilisation be?

The impact of French strikes all depends on one thing – union solidarity. 

There are many different unions in France and even within a single profession – for example train drivers – there are often five or six different unions representing staff. It’s only when all or most of the unions agree to strike on the same day that we usually see major disruption of the kind that brought transport in the country to a standstill in late 2019.

The unions participating in Thursday’s action are; CGT, Solidaries and FSU.

There will also be notable absences, including the union FO (Force Ouvrière) who said they are not interested in marching alongside political parties. The union Unsa will also not take place in industrial action this Thursday. 

France’s largest union the CFDT will also be absent, with the head of the union, Laurent Berger, telling AFP: “Who is going to believe that it is because you are all going to demonstrate together in Paris that this is going to settle the question (of wages)? It is company by company, professional branch by professional branch that we must act.”

This suggests that disruption will be more limited, although it’s likely that some services will be worse-hit than others.

Which sectors will be impacted?

The industrial action will primarily impact a few sectors, such as transport, education, and civil servants. 

Transport

SNCF – SNCF has released its strike timetable which states that high-speed TGV services will be unaffected in the north and east of the country, but slightly disrupted in the south and west.

On the budget Ouigo routes, 25 percent of trains will be cancelled while half of all Intercité trains will be cancelled, with no Intercité services running at night. On the regional TER services, 4 in 10 will be cancelled.

The international services on Eurostar and Thalys are not affected, nor are services to Germany and Italy. Lyria – which connects France to Switzerland – will be running a ‘quasi normal’ service while routes to Spain may see slight disruption.

If you have tickets booked, SNCF will contact you via SMS, email or through an app alert if your train is cancelled or delayed. 

(You can listen to The Local France team discuss the coming strikes and protests in France in our new podcast episode below. Just press play or download it here for later.)

Urban transport – City transport networks (buses, streetcars, metros) could be impacted both by striking drivers and by route detours linked to demonstrations. To know the traffic forecasts, check the website of your transport service.

Paris – As for Paris public transport operator RATP, workers represented by the CGT union are taking part in the strike, although workers represented by other unions will not.

RATP has published its strike timetable which shows that the Metro will be unaffected and trams will be ‘lightly’ affected, with 9 in 10 of the normal services running. The suburban services of RER C and D and Transilien lines J and R will be heavily affected with around two thirds of the normal services running while buses will also only be running around two thirds of the normal service. The RER B – which connects Paris to Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports – will be running but with around three quarters of its normal number of trains. 

Truck drivers –  Some truck drivers will stop work. The road transport federation of SUD Solidaires is calling on its members and truck drivers to join Thursday’s actions. However, it should be noted that the SUD Solidaires union does not have a majority in the “road haulage collective agreement” and is not part of the mandatory annual negotiations.

Maritime traffic – The CGT national federation of ports and docks is calling for a four-hour work stoppage. The hours will vary from port to port. In Marseille, for example, workers will walk out from 9 am to 1 pm, thus maritime traffic could be impacted. Ferry passengers should check with their operator.

Flights will not be affected.

Education

Several teachers’ unions (SNES FSU, SNUipp-FSU, SUD Education) have published strike notices on their websites.

For pre-schools (maternelles) and primary schools, teachers must declare themselves as strikers ahead of time, so parents should be aware prior to Thursday. In each case, parents will be contacted by the school if classes are going to be closed. 

Extracurricular activities, cafeterias and crèches – Services managed by the cities such as school cafeterias, extracurricular activities and day care centres could also be impacted, as civil servants represented by the three unions listed above were called to mobilise. To know the disruptions that will impact you or your child specifically, you can contact your local mairie (city hall).

Public servants

Civil servants (fonctionnaires) were called to participate in the strike, which could have an impact on some public services. Healthcare workers are also staging industrial action, although in their case this will involve demonstrations rather than walking out of work. 

Refinery workers 

Finally, some refinery workers employed by TotalEnergies will walk out on Thursday, as they seek salary increases, as well as the “unfreezing of hiring” and “a massive investment plan” in France. 

They will also be staging a blockade at certain refineries to prevent fuel leaving – the main sites to be affected will be the La Mède biorefinery (Bouches-du-Rhône), the Normandy refinery in Le Havre, Donges (Loire-Atlantique), Carling (Moselle), Feyzin (Rhône) and Oudalle (Seine-Maritime), as well as the fuel depots in Grandpuits (Seine-et-Marne) and Flandres (Nord).

Demonstrations

On Thursday there will also be marches and demos held in around 200 towns and cities in France.

The largest is likely to be in Paris, where between 3,000 and 6,000 demonstrators are expected in the march which sets off at 2pm from Denfert-Rochereau in the direction of Bastille. 

Other strike days coming up 

On October 16th, the leftist party La France Insoumise has called on all political and trade union forces on the left to mobilise. However, as of September 27th, CGT said it would not participate in such action.

Additionally, there have been calls for industrial action in the early childhood (nurseries) sector scheduled for October 6th.

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TRAVEL NEWS

EES: Could the launch of the Europe’s new border system be delayed again?

After being postponed several times already Europe's new biometric Entry/Exit border system (EES) is set to be rolled out in October, but with fears of lengthy queues, problems with a new app and demands for more time, could it be postponed again?

EES: Could the launch of the Europe's new border system be delayed again?

Could the entry into operation of the EU entry/exit system (EES), the new biometric passport checks for non-EU citizens at the Schengen area’s external borders, be delayed yet again?

Originally planned for May 2022, EES has already been postponed many times.

The current launch date, set for October 2024, was chosen to avoid periods of peak traffic and France in particular had requested to avoid it being launched until after the Paris Olympics this summer.

When asked to confirm the October start date this week a spokesperson for the EU’s Commission told The Local that the “roadmap” for the EES IT system foresees it will be ready for Autumn 2024. But the actual start date, in other words, the day when passengers will have to register, would be confirmed nearer the time.

The spokesperson said: “The exact date will be determined by the European Commission and announced on the EES official website well in time for the start of operations.”

READ ALSO: Your key questions answered about Europe’s new EES passport checks

But the reasons are adding up to suggest an October start date is optimistic, perhaps even unlikely.

In the annual report on the ‘State of Schengen’ published last week, the European Commission spelt out that severe challenges remain if member states are to be ready on time.

“In 2023, efforts to ensure the entry into operation of the Entry-Exit System in the autumn of 2024 were accelerated… While important progress has been made across the Schengen area, some Member States are still falling behind, notably regarding the effective equipment of border crossing points. The Commission calls on all Member States to urgently accelerate preparations to ensure the timely implementation of the system…”

A map in the report shows that preparation is still “in progress” in 13 Schengen area countries, including Germany, Norway and Switzerland. “Outstanding issues” still impact Portugal, Malta and Bulgaria.

The state of play for the preparations for EES across EU and Schengen states. Image: European Commission.

There are also reports that EU heavyweight Germany is trying to persuade Brussels to delay.

Matthias Monroy, editor of the German civil rights journal Bürgerrechte & Polizei/CILIP claimed on his website that “the German government is lobbying in Brussels to postpone the date once again, as otherwise the German tests of the EES cannot be completed in full. Other EU countries are also behind schedule, with only eight of them having reported successful integration.”

Even on a French government website it talks of EES being rolled out some time “between the end of 2024 and 2025” rather than stating October 2024.

And according to recent media reports, French airports have been advised to be ready for November 6th, rather than October. 

READ ALSO: EES and Etias – what are the big upcoming travel changes in Europe?

A planned EU app, believed to be essential to the smooth operation of EES because it would allow non-EU visitors to register in advance of travel will not be ready, Gwendoline Cazenave, Managing Director of Eurostar International, the company operating train services via the Channel Tunnel, has told the BBC. The EU however insists the app does not need to be up and running before EES is introduced.

In the UK, which will be heavily impacted by EES due to the fact it is no longer in the EU and so British travellers are no longer EU citizens, the House of Commons European scrutiny committee is conducting an inquiry on the potential disruption the introduction of the EES will cause at the border.

Several respondents have recently raised the alarm about the possible delays the system could cause, especially at the UK-France border, which is used by millions of passengers each year who head to France and other countries across Europe.

Ashford Borough Council in Kent has warned of the possibility of more than 14 hours queues to reach the Port of Dover, which has already been struggling increased checked after Brexit.

The BBC reported that back in March, a P&O Ferries director said the IT system should be delayed again.

Airlines have also complained about the fact pre-travel EES requirements would make last minute bookings impossible.

The Union des Aéroports Français (UAF), which represents airports in France, has simply said more time is needed.

In other words, it would be little surprise if the roll out was delayed again beyond October 2024.

But the Commission spokesperson told The Local that “the timeline for the entry into operation of the EES took into account all the necessary activities to be performed by all relevant stakeholders to ensure a timely entry into operation. 

“The Commission is working very closely with eu-Lisa [the EU agency in charge of the IT system], the Member States and carriers to ensure that everything is ready for the timely and successful launch of the Entry Exit System.

“The roadmap for the delivery of the new IT architecture foresees that the Entry/Exit system will be ready to enter into operation in Autumn 2024.”

New digital border

The EES is a digital system to register travellers from non-EU countries when they cross a border in or out of the Schengen area, the travel-free area. It will be deployed in 29 countries across Europe including 25 EU states plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Ireland and Cyprus are the only EU members who won’t apply the EES system.

It doesn’t apply to non-EU nationals who are legally resident in an EU/Schengen area country or those with dual nationality of an EU /Schengen county. The system was designed to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

Instead of having the passport stamped, travellers will have to scan it at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are huge concerns the extra time needed could generate long queues in the UK, where there are juxtaposed border checks with the EU.

Preparations are ongoing throughout Europe and some countries have made good progress.

In France, Getlink, the operator of the Channel Tunnel, has recently reported that new EES infrastructure is finished at its French terminal of Coquelles, which will allow travellers to register their biometric data while travelling.

Eurostar is also installing 49 kiosks in stations for the registration of passengers. But the Union des Aéroports Français (UAF), which represents airports in France, said more time is needed.

Exempted

Meanwhile, the Polish government has urged UK citizens who are beneficiaries of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement to get a residence permit “in the context of EES/ETIAS”, even though there was not such an obligation to stay legally in Poland post-Brexit.

“Having such a document is beneficial as it will exempt from future Entry/Exit System (EES) registration when crossing external borders and from the need to obtain an ETIAS travel permit in relation to short-term travel to EU/Schengen countries,” the government page says.

This article as published in collaboration with Europe Street news.

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