French Train Strikes won’t stop us in our tracks

French Railworkers strike about pensions

The last time were were in Paris, in 2005, there was a train strike that thwarted our train journey from Paris to Amsterdam. We had no idea there was a strike in progress, and only discovered it when we arrived to passenger chaos at Gare de Nord.

A day-long strike disrupted all modes of public transport as French labor unions attempted to exert pressure on the government over high unemployment and economic policy.

Jay in Paris in 2005
Jay in Paris in 2005

Fast-forward fifteen years. We’re in Paris again. There’s a strike again. This time it’s about the pension reforms being proposed by the prime minister. You’d think we’d be annoyed that our plans have been disrupted, but we’re actually pleased that the French have the enthusiasm and passion to stand up for their rights. But where does that leave us and our travel plans?

We arrived into Charles de Gaul Airport on Friday night, and were meant to be heading to Paris Austerlitz to catch the night train to Toulouse. This night train takes twice as long as the day-time journey, but we liked the idea of sleeping our way to Toulouse, and arriving early morning. All night trains were cancelled as part of the rail strike, and “unfortunately” we had to spend a night in Paris.

Jay on the way to the Paris Hotel in the rain
Jay on the way to the Paris Hotel in the rain – 15 years later

I found a last minute hotel deal for a 4* hotel that was really close to Paris Montparnasse train station where are day train to Toulouse was due to leave the next morning, and we kept our fingers cross that the new train we’d book would still be running.

Red happy in our first Paris Bistro of 2020
Red happy in our first Paris Bistro of 2020

We found a cozy and welcoming French bistro in the neighbourhood and enjoyed an aromatic and filling mushroom risotto washed down by a full-bodied bottle of Bordeaux. The wine we ordered wasn’t available, so the proprietor offered us a more expensive wine at the cost of the cheaper bottle. Who said French hospitality was dead?

We had a short stroll to catch our train the next day, but when we got to the station is was chaos and pandemonian.

French Rail Strike at Paris Montparnasse Station
French Rail Strike at Paris Montparnasse Station

Crowds of people corralled into corners of the station waiting to navigate their way onto the platform. When the barriers opened, hoards of people squashed towards the narrow escalator, and it’s a wonder no body got trampled underfoot. No tickets were checked when boarding, during the journey, or when we got off the train in Toulouse.

After spending two nights in Toulouse we headed to the station to catch our train to Carcassonne, to spend the day wandering around Carcassonne’s Old Medieval city.

When we got to the station our train was cancelled, and our replacement train was delayed by 5 hours and only went half-way, and we had to board a shuttle bus the rest of the way. Meaning our arrival to Carcassonne was delayed by 7 hours.

Our support for the strike started to wane, but the staff at Toulouse train station were so helpful and friendly we continued to wave the flag of support, albeit a little less enthusiastically.

Carcassonne old town at night
Carcassonne old town at night

Carcassonne was impressive and night, but it would have been nice to have had more time there and see it in the daylight.

The next morning we had to catch an early morning Flixbus to Montpelier. See, twice bitten and we’re learning. When you’re not sure which trains are running and which ones are cancelled—take the bus.

Flixbus to Montpelier
Our Flixbus at Montpelier bus stop

Roomy seats and comfy ride. Flixbus highly recommended, except their pick-up location wasn’t marked so we spent an anxious 30 minutes wondering if we were in the right location.

Notes about Train Ticket Refunds

I’d booked all of our train tickets through TheTrainLine.com – and offer a handy service to do all the legwork for cancelled train tickets. You just have to submit your booking reference and they’ll work with the relevant train services to get your cancelled train tickets refunded.

 

Cover Image: democracynow.org

Author: Roving Jay

Jay is a project manager who swapped corporate life for a nomadic existence as a travel writer. She works with authors and entrepreneurs to help them achieve their self-publishing goals and reach their target audience through content marketing. Jay has published a series of travel guides, a travel memoir, and nonfiction books about travel writing. She housesits and volunteers around the globe with her husband, a Hollywood set painter, and she’s never more that 10 paces away from a wi-fi connection.

40 thoughts on “French Train Strikes won’t stop us in our tracks

  1. Trains strikes and other sort of protests can be harrowing experiences for travelers with all their schedules thrown out of gear. I am impressed that you braved it through twice! 🙂

  2. It’s a pain in the butt when these things happen but you just have to overcome it as it is out of your hands. I think the mushroom risotto and wine may have cheered me up a bit. I’ve had travel schedules cancelled on many occasions the biggest one being when the Icelandic volcano went up and I was “stranded” in Miami for 5 days (not really a hardship but worrying at the time!). Glad you still enjoyed your trip.

  3. I loved your traveling spirit as cancellation of trains did not deter your travel plans. It is sad to listen that after your arrival to Paris trains were cancelled but you are lucky that you got last minute hotel deal for a 4* hotel that was really close to Paris Montparnasse train station. I too faced such issues in Germany as all trains cancelled due to computer problems and we had to change 5 buses to reach Garmisch from Munich.

  4. You guys have a great attitude! Sometimes the unexpected mishap or delay opens a door for a new adventure. That’s the beauty of travel, being able to make last-minute changes to any plan and enjoy the unexpected experience.

  5. Every time I’ve visited France, there’s been some strike. Annoying but I’m pleased people are standing up for their rights. Always have a plan B for visiting France. Plus Carcassonne is gorgeous, you’ll have to return in daylight some time 🙂

  6. I love your positive attitude about the strikes! While we were in Italy last year there was a one day general strike, so our flight was cancelled to Berlin (air traffic controllers were on strike). Ironically, we had to take a train instead because the Italian trains are privately owned and don’t experience strikes. Traveling is always an adventure.

  7. Strikes can really be annoying, but your positive attitude is great. Years ago we to Pompei and it was closed due to a strike. I almost cried. We only had a half day for the visit and it’s no fun, when you travel from the other side of the globe to see the place. Luckily, we went for a walk and discovered the other gate was open. I visited Pompei, hurayyyy.
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  8. Thank you for this perspective. Truly I respect the French for their enthusiasm to keep the government accountable. You made the best of your time during the strike. Paris is always a great idea

  9. I can imagine there were quite a few anxious moments there. It’s great to hear the tickets will be refunded and that you were able to get to your destinations eventually.

    1. We’ve already got plans to visit more of France on another trip – because we missed visiting Marseilles, so we’ll be able to detour to Carcassonne next time around.

  10. I love how you resorted to Flix Bus. During a recent trip to Europe, I became a little bit obsessed with Flix Bus and finding how far I could get for how little. It was my new favourite thing and I ended up using this as my first option for travel. It’s annoying with the strikes, we also have them in the UK and it just causes havoc, however, by all accounts you made the most out of a frustrating situation and you stayed positive.

  11. I’m so glad this did not stop your travels! We had a similar situation when we were in Paris but also luckily avoided any major issues!

  12. What an adventure! I agree with you that the French strikers are admirable for the passion they address their social and political issues. Happy you made it to Carcassonne! It’s been on my bucket list since I read Labyrinth by Kate Moss…

  13. This is the sign of an experienced traveler: knowing to be flexible and pinch-hit when needed because the unexpected will and does happen…like the train strike. We ran into a similar issue in Italy with taxi strikes in Florence! We opted for bus transportation, as you did in this case. It was a good “Plan B.” It’s so helpful when cities have multiple forms of public transportation!

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