Insults to create an electric shock. This is the SNCF’s new communication strategy to warn of violence against its agents. As reported by Huffington Postsince June 24, a campaign to this effect has been set up on some of the advertising screens in stations.
And the messages, even with incomplete words, are more than eloquent: “Your job is bullshit”, “Fuck off”, or even “Don’t fuck me”. c***, c******.” Above all, these sentences are not imagined, but rather taken from real situations. The slogan “Do you find it violent? We too”, just below, shows the desire to raise awareness among travelers.
Sixteen attacks per day
“In 2023, the company recorded an average of 16 verbal or physical attacks targeting agents per day. In total, 6,000 acts of violence were recorded in one year. They gave rise to 430 work stoppages, an increase of 8% in one year,” notes the Huffington Post.
Delays, last minute announcements and train cancellations due to weather are often the causes of this violence. But, as SNCF security director Patrick Auvrèle clearly points out to France Info, “nothing justifies violent attacks on an agent who is only doing his job.”
Up to 6 months in prison
To reduce the tensions that may arise, the SNCF has also chosen to increase the number of its agents equipped with pedestrian cameras. “3,000 are already in circulation, this figure should rise to 5,500 by the end of the year,” according to the Huffington Post.
The railway company also has another ace up its sleeve: the Law. The posters of the campaign launched this week remind us of this. In fact, contempt of an agent is punishable by a penalty of up to 6 months in prison and a fine of 7,500 euros.
