Train strikes expected in Paris this Tuesday
Unions call for action claiming an off-duty driver was ‘attacked’ by security forces
Trains to both of Paris’ major airports will be impacted
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Disruptions are expected along one of Paris’ main rail corridors on Tuesday (September 24), with four unions backing a strike.
One in three trains along the RER B, a commuter rail service which runs north-south through the city and to both Paris Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports, will be affected.
However, interconnection services will still pull into Gare du Nord (where the different lines of the route meet), unions have confirmed.
Passengers are expected to check after 17:00 today on https://www.ratp.fr/ to see if their scheduled journey on the RER B will be affected.
The strike has been called after an altercation between an off-duty driver and security forces of the SNCF French rail operator.
It is a one-day strike, with no further days of action being announced.
Strike over security treatment of off-duty driver
Four unions – Base RATP, the main union for RER drivers, as well as the CGT, FO and Unsa – are backing the strike, due to an incident which happened on September 3.
An off-duty RER driver got into an ‘intermediate cabin’ – a space between two train carriages on a route, intended only for employees – to rest in whilst the train went to his destination.
“Although he was in uniform and presented his professional card,” SNCF security agents “took him out of the cab in a military manner”, said Arnaud Moinet, secretary of La Base RATP to Le Parisien.
“This isn't the first time, so we alerted our management, but they didn't listen,” he added.
The RER is managed both by the RATP and SNCF, as it reaches into Paris’ suburban towns, as well as driving underground through the capital.
The unions said the strike is a show of force against “inappropriate control and intervention procedures carried out by SNCF and/or RATP security teams.”
“Management did not take us seriously at first, and this incident has created too much of a stir. The strike will be very well attended,” said a delegate from the FO union, also to Le Parisien.
The RATP, which manages Paris’ public transport network, has opened an ‘in-depth investigation’ into the incidents.
Read more: Strikes in France in September 2024 and how you may be impacted
