“It’s painful to be taken hostage every time”: faced with the strike, SNCF users between anger, resignation and plan “B”

Les académies de Toulouse, Montpellier, Paris, Lyon ou Grenoble sont désormais en vacances. Midi Libre – GIACOMO ITALIANO

The SNCF controllers' strike will impact rail traffic this weekend when two of the three zones are now on vacation. Only one in two trains will run, the SNCF promises 150% reimbursements and rail users try as best they can to find alternatives. 

they have been planning their trip to Thailand for six months. So, when the SNCF notification came on the phone of Lucas and his seven friends, announcing the cancellation of their “OUIGO” for Paris from Montpellier, scheduled for this Friday, February 16, "yes we were angry and disgusted" reports this young Narbonnais from&nbsp ;26 years old.

The bad news reached them on Wednesday afternoon. The race against time to "plan B" then begins so that "the journey of their lives" falls into the water.

The reason ? The controllers' strike movement which leads to the cancellation of one in two trains until Monday, February 19. In the middle of the school holidays in zone C (Montpellier, Toulouse, Paris) and at the start of zone A (Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lyon).

A night bus and an eleven-hour drive

"Everyone was working except me and a friend and there we had four hours of research like crazy, in stress"&nbsp ;pursues Lucas.

The trains running are not doing the trick so as not to miss this Saturday's plane to Bangkok, the planes have become overpriced, "up to 312 € per head", and the buses filled up at high speed "V". However, it was via a "Blablacar" bus that the group of friends found their solution.

They had to travel to Perpignan from Narbonne or Béziers and then, on Thursday evening, take a bus for eleven hours of travel with an expected arrival in Paris this Friday at the end of the morning.

"Their monopoly is hurting us"

"Honestly, I'm not interested in the reasons for the movement, but it’s always the same people who go on strike… If we hadn't taken the lead, it was done" let go of the pool attendant.

"I'm angry, the SNCF is a lot of privileges" on her side Hélène, mother of a family from Hérault.

She had to juggle from Haute-Savoie and pause her ski vacation to solve this equation: she had to bring her 7-year-old daughter to the train in Lyon, this Saturday, February 17, where a "Junior" accompanist was to take her to Lille to visit her paternal family, for an alternate holiday visit.

And there is no question of compromising with even the slightest minute of custody.

"We just learned Thursday morning that his train is canceled… So it was all up in arms" reports the thirty-year-old who studied all the solutions. She must resolve to leave at dawn on Saturday, to bring her daughter by car halfway to Lille where her ex-sister-in-law will be waiting for her… hellip; With the caps provided by Bison Futé.

"My daughter is going to drive ten hours…. Frankly, I work in the private sector, we are not the worst off, but I find it painful to be taken hostage every time" plague the & rsquo;Héraultaise. "There was Christmas, but there was also the World Cup… Each time, they find a way to make a mess… Frankly, their monopoly is annoying us.

"It’is nickel"

Others, however, have happier fortunes, because one train in two should run.
This is the case of Thomas, 27, whose Montpellier-Lyon was canceled this Friday, but he found a replacement"an hour before my departure, it’s perfect. The ticket change system is well organized" he reacts.

Lukas, a 25-year-old from Montpellier, will miss his running training planned with his friends this Friday in Toulouse.

But he kindly takes his train change which delays him by two hours: "I understand the strikers, they didn't get what’ rsquo;they had negotiated and if they wanted it to work, they had better go on strike now, if I had been in their place…" .

"I’cancelled! We take users hostage"

But for Régine, in her sixties, no “plan B”, she completely canceled her trip from Ain to Nîmes where she was to come this weekend to see her son and her two grandchildren for school holidays.

"I’cancelled! My son told me to take the car, I didn't want to go into traffic… hellip; At 65, we want to travel properly" she tells us.

"I worked in hospitals, I went on strike, we didn’not get paid and we’ rsquo;still occupied patients. It’s not normal to give notice when families reunite, to take users hostage, it’s very disrespectful, it’s an abuse of power of the unions".

Aurélie, finally, fumes. This Montpellier physiotherapist was to leave for Paris on Sunday with her husband and her two daughters, aged 4 and 8, for five short days of vacation and crap…

Tickets validated Wednesday… Canceled Thursday

"I received an email on Wednesday indicating that the reservation is confirmed then today (Thursday Editor's note) the train is canceled… It’s a shame! When I see the impact on all French people, it’s shameful…" launches- her.

Above all, this family is out of pocket. The OUIGO tickets are refunded but there are none before Tuesday, so they took “normal” SNCF tickets, much more expensive for Monday, to which must be added the night of the day. hotel lost Sunday…

"And again, we are lucky, we found on Monday, friends, they don’have no solution… When I see that we, physiotherapists, have been increased by 1.6 € over three years…" enrage Aurélie.

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