All SNCF unions called for a 24-hour strike, then a second renewable one from December 11.
The impact of the SNCF strike planned for Thursday should be quite limited. Despite the movement, at the call of all railway unions, rail traffic will be “almost normal on TGVs” while “some disruptions are expected on certain regional lines”announced SNCF Voyageurs on Tuesday.
The company will announce more detailed local forecasts on Tuesday afternoon. The railway workers' unions are calling for a 24-hour strike on Thursday to denounce the dismantling of Fret SNCF and the opening to competition in passenger transport, before a renewable movement from December 11.
The movement of anger was triggered by the confirmation at the beginning of November of the dismantling of Fret SNCF, the leading company in France for the transport of goods by rail, with the loss of 500 jobs out of 5,000. The company will be replaced on January 1 by two companies, one specializing in freight transport (Hexafret) and the other in locomotive maintenance (Technis). SNCF has promised zero layoffs by taking over all railway workers not retained in other group companies.
An opening of capital to the private sector in 2026
This dismantling results from an agreement signed between the government and the European Commission, after the opening of an investigation into illegal state aid paid to Fret SNCF. “We cannot let this pass without doing anything”says Fabien Villedieu, Sud-Rail federal secretary. The agreement signed with Europe also provides for an opening of the capital to the private sector at the beginning of 2026. The unions denounce a privatization, which the management of the SNCF contests since the railway group will retain the majority of the capital. “It’s a process of privatization in the broad sense”said the general secretary of the CGT-Cheminots Thierry Nier. “The same process applied to Freight will apply to travelers tomorrow”he continues.
Unions are concerned about the process of «filialisation» in the TER since on December 14, around 1,200 railway workers in Amiens, Nice and Nantes will be transferred from SNCF Voyageurs to dedicated companies having won calls for tenders launched by the regions for the TER market. The transferred railway workers will retain certain advantages (retirement rights, travel facilities, etc.) but will also see the entire organization of their working time reorganized, in order to increase productivity. “There is a very strong awareness (among railway workers) that these structural changes are obviously not going in the right direction”assures the general secretary of the CFDT-Cheminots, Thomas Cavel.
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