SNCF to sell five million €35 seats in strike ‘sorry’
French train company SNCF has announced it is selling more than five million TGV tickets for less than €35 each, as a “positive gesture” to “say sorry” after months of transport strike disruption.
The tickets will be on sale from Thursday January 23 to January 30. They will be valid for all TGV services within France, including Inoui and Ouigo, until mid-April, including over the Easter holidays. Some international tickets will also be on sale for less than €50 each.
The company has described the move as a “strong positive gesture” to help its users, who it said had suffered major disruption since transport strikes against pension reform began on December 5, 2019.
Regular TGV travellers - those with season tickets - will also receive between 50-100% discount on their monthly payment for the month of February, the company said.
Rachel Picard, director general at SNCF Voyages, said: “This represents almost a quarter of our seats sold for such a low price. This will apply to all French lines, and there will be prices under 50 on international lines.
“This is really to say to our clients, ‘We are aware of what you have suffered, and we are making an effort. We really want to renew our links with you. I am aware of the stress that our clients have suffered, and we want to say sorry.”
