2023-12-21 21:05:42
At midday on Thursday, an unexpected strike by French employees of Eurotunnel, the company managing the Channel Tunnel, led to the shutdown of the Eurostars and caused trouble at the Gare du Nord. The unions won their case in the evening.
At the foot of the steps leading to the Eurostar, decorated with the British flag, travelers and suitcases pile up in the large hall of the Gare du Nord. On the board in front of the staircase, a message is displayed in English and French: “Channel tunnel staff strike. No Eurostar London traffic today.” This Thursday, December 21, dozens of people leaving for Great Britain found themselves stranded in France due to a surprise strike started at midday by staff to protest once morest the amount of an exceptional end bonus. of year. The day before the big vacation departures and three days before Christmas Eve. “What do we do?” we hear around the stairs.
From London, three young girls wait in silence near their bags. Since Thursday midday, all trains circulating in the Channel Tunnel, but also shuttles transporting cars and trucks, have been blocked by an unexpected strike action triggered by French unions.
“I understand those who are on strike”
“The union organizations rejected the exceptional bonus of 1,000 euros announced at the end of the year by management and called a strike to demand a tripling of it,” explains Getlink – the parent company of Eurotunnel – in a press release. In London, no trains were able to leave for France, Belgium or the Netherlands.
If many on site claim not to have heard of the reasons which led to the strike, Lauryn assures: “I don’t blame anyone.” At 22, this apprentice in commerce and events was supposed to celebrate Christmas with her family and friends in London, thanks to the 9:10 p.m. train. She’s pretty used to strikes. “There are often in England, I have missed several journeys because of that. We find ourselves trapped and it’s always annoying, but I understand those who go on strike,” she concedes. Standing in front of the stairs, the young woman is now thinking of going home, and trying to catch a train in the next few hours.
Eyes glued to their phones, passengers stranded in Paris are looking for alternatives to try to cross the Channel, due to a lack of trains heading to London on Thursday. The solutions ? Book another train, another day, go to Calais and hope to catch a ferry there, or book a plane. “The blockage of the Channel Tunnel is unacceptable, reacted the French Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune on X. I call on everyone to be responsible, to ensure traffic and vacation departures in good conditions.”
Eight hours of waiting in Nice
Pink phone in hand and pink suitcase on foot, Sarah, a 78-year-old British retiree, chats with her station neighbors: they don’t know each other but they discuss the best alternatives. Sarah and her granddaughter were “doing Christmas shopping at Galeries Lafayette” when she received the text message announcing that her train was canceled: “I was panicked. It’s just so close to Christmas. We did not expect that.” Her smile returned: her daughter has just booked a flight to Bristol on Friday for a total of 377 pounds (435 euros) for both. “We were lucky,” says Sarah. Living in Somerset, the pensioner and her 14-year-old granddaughter “have to get home”: they have things planned tomorrow.
A little behind, Ling, 35, refreshes the page of the low-cost coach company Flixbus and flight comparators. Originally from Taiwan, where she runs an accessories store, she had been in Paris for two weeks and had to go to London to spend the holidays with friends. “I received an email around 2 p.m. that said the train was canceled. I came here to try to change my ticket, but they said it was impossible to travel today, maybe tomorrow,” she says. She did find a flight at 9:25 p.m. Thursday evening for “around 200 euros” but to reach London, the plane goes through Nice where she would have to wait eight hours. A significant stopover for Ling, who is hesitant and will perhaps return to Gare du Nord Friday morning at dawn.
“Everything was complete”
Nathalie, 50, a Franco-English lawyer accustomed to crossings under the Channel, especially regrets being “very poorly informed”. She learned of the cancellation of her train – scheduled for 5:11 p.m. – when she arrived at the station and “absolutely” wants to go to London for the holidays, to reunite with her family: “But there is no standard class ticket until ‘to 26. It’s very sad. And we are not allowed to change tickets at the counter.” Like many here, Nathalie finally decides to turn back and head to a hotel that she has stayed in for the night.
Sarah, 24, a hearing aid student, had not planned an English Christmas but a weekend in London with her fiancé, her sister and friends. “We don’t see anything available before Sunday, the day we were supposed to return,” she says. We looked straight away as soon as we received the text message. But everything was complete.” “I had booked and paid for everything for this weekend: hotel, activities, park…” sighs Sarah who prefers not to cancel everything straight away: “We still have hope of leaving.”
“Results”
Shortly following 7:30 p.m., the Eurotunnel unions announced that they would call off their strike. “If the company’s employees are returning to their work, it is because the negotiations that we fiercely conducted during the day with general management brought results that satisfy us,” they welcomed in a press release, specifying that “Channel tunnel activity will resume this evening”.
Gare du Nord, however, it is uncertainty that still dominates at the start of the evening. “We have no information on the strike”, “I asked my boss”, “it’s false information”, respond the staff members. They estimate that no Eurostar should run by the end of the day. Above all, they confirm that all trains are almost full until December 26.
Updated: at 7:55 p.m., with the announcement of the end of the strike.
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