French railway unions call off strike during New Year's weekend

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French sources reported on Friday that France's leading unions in its railway industry announced to call off the strike which was scheduled for the New Year's weekend after an agreement was reached with the French national rail network (SNCF) today.

Four unions, which had until Friday noon to decide on a proposal by the SNCF, signed the agreement that would allow for the restoration of normal train traffic and lift off the strike notice for the New Year's weekend.

However, the SNCF raised concerns that despite the agreement being reached, it will not improve the situation with the movement of trains on Christmas Day, and the number of trains canceled for the weekend will not change.

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Starting today till December 26, France's railway workers, as well as the National Society of Controllers (ASCT), will be on strike.

Only 2 out of 3 high-speed trains TGV and Ouigo will be circulate today between French cities, while on Saturday and Sunday only 2 out of 5 trains circulate.

More than 200,000 French people will be affected by the strike and will not be able to reunite with their families to celebrate Christmas.  

Earlier today, the SNCF announced that passengers whose trains were canceled between December 23 and 26 will get a 200% ticket refund.

ℹ️ Grève : Mesures prises pour les trajets annulés du 23 au 26.12
✅ Échange sans frais ou remboursement intégral
➕ Compensation équivalente à 2 fois la valeur du trajet annulé

— SNCF (@SNCF) December 22, 2022

The French Ministry of Transport estimates that a strike over the Christmas weekend will cost SNCF 100 million euros.

Read more: Unions call for transport strike to cause major disruptions: France