SNCF strike: "90% of trains will run this weekend," assures CEO

SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou assured on Tuesday, May 6, that "90% of trains will run this weekend," despite the call for a strike launched by several unions.

"All departures will go well since there is almost no strike on Wednesday and Thursday" and "there will be a train on Sunday to bring everyone back," Jean-Pierre Farandou said on France Inter, after the first day of strikes on Monday, the effects of which were limited to regional trains.

"Don't cancel, your train will run," said the head of the public company, estimating that "most customers will really get the train they bought a ticket for," while "a few may have to travel an hour or two."

All tickets remain exchangeable and refundable without charge on TGV Inoui and Ouigo for the week of May 5 to 11.

Two SNCF unions have filed several strike notices for this week, during which many French people plan to "take a long break" after the May 8 holiday. The union demands mainly concern the increase in a bonus and the organization of work.

The first day of the strike on Monday had limited impact, sparing major lines. The disruptions mainly affected regional trains, particularly in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais regions, with only one in three trains scheduled. Traffic was also severely disrupted on some lines in the Île-de-France region, such as the RER B. On Tuesday, train and RER service is expected to be "disrupted to a similar extent" as on Monday on these same lines in the Île-de-France region (B, C, D, H, N, V, U), SNCF Voyageurs announced Monday evening.

As for the TER and Transiliens, "we are hopeful that the movement will stop fairly quickly and that public service can resume," said Jean-Pierre Farandou. SNCF Voyageurs has scheduled a press briefing on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. to update the departure forecasts for trains, Inoui, Ouigo and Intercités.

The CGT-Cheminots and SUD-Rail unions are demanding higher pay and better planning of schedules, which they say are too often changed at the last minute. For the May 8th bank holiday, an influential collective of ticket inspectors called the Collectif national ASCT (CNA) has joined the call for action, giving it momentum.

"I think the French do not really understand why some categories of railway workers are still, in fact, demanding money," said Jean-Pierre Farandou.

Negotiations are "open" and "there is no point in holding categorical strikes (...) which annoy everyone," the CEO said. "We must have the ability to engage in dialogue calmly, calmly, and serenely, listening to all the unions," he added. Meetings are planned for early June with representatives of the drivers and supervisors.

Due to the calls for strikes, some travelers have already begun looking for alternatives. "There are already people who have canceled," "thousands," according to Jean-Pierre Farandou. "As we saw, we had fewer sales for this May 8th bank holiday than we usually do," he said.

"Our competitors are laughing. There are trains that are completely full. And BlaBlaCar is more than 20 or 30%. Car rental, the same," lamented the CEO of SNCF. Car rental company Ada reported Monday that it was seeing a 30% increase in bookings for this long weekend compared to 2024, when May 8 fell on a Wednesday.