SNCF strike: "probably 14,000 trains out of 15,000 will run today," according to the Minister of Transport

This Tuesday marks the second day of a week of strikes at the SNCF . While the disruptions have mainly affected the Île-de-France region since Monday, as well as certain regions this Tuesday , Philippe Tabarot, the Minister of Transport, reminded that "the SNCF will give its forecasts for the weekend in a few moments," in this case mid-morning.

Interviewed on franceinfo , he estimates that "probably 14,000 trains out of 15,000 will be running today across the entire country, with all the TGVs." But "more complicated situations exist, such as in Île-de-France," he adds.

"We were told about a massive strike. We will learn from this. But I am delighted to know that some unions have decided not to follow suit," the minister said.

He points out that striking railway workers have "dormant notices" with the option of declaring themselves "only" 48 hours in advance. He believes that the "law could change this." He specifically mentions a 72-hour notice period so that "users have the information as far in advance as possible."

"Perhaps, for the first time, the government hasn't put pressure on itself to find a solution at all costs," said the government official. He accuses previous administrations of sometimes resorting to "checkbook" policy to avoid a strike. "If we had done that, it wouldn't have solved anything, and perhaps we would have had the same problem for future bridges."

Finally, on the issue of security and facial recognition in transport, Philippe Tabarot believes that "evolution" is needed on the matter. This could make controls "more fluid." He believes that the Constitutional Council and the CNIL (National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties) will be able to provide guarantees regarding respect for privacy.