The impact of the SNCF strike scheduled for Thursday is expected to be fairly limited. Despite the strike, called by all the railway unions, rail traffic will continue to run smoothly. “quasi-normal on TGVs”. while “some disruptions are expected on some regional lines”.SNCF Voyageurs announced on Tuesday.

The company will announce more detailed local forecasts on Tuesday afternoon. Railway unions are calling a 24-hour strike on Thursday to protest the dismantling of Fret SNCF and the opening up of passenger transport to competition, before a renewable strike starting on December 11.

The angry movement was triggered by confirmation in early November that Fret SNCF, France’s leading rail freight company, was to be dismantled, with the loss of 500 of its 5,000 jobs. The company will be replaced on January 1 by two companies, one specializing in freight transport (Hexafret) and the other in locomotive maintenance (Technis). SNCF has promised zero redundancies by taking on all railway workers not retained by other group companies.

Opening of capital to the private sector in 2026

This dismantling is the result of an agreement signed between the government and the European Commission, following the opening of an investigation into illegal state aid paid to Fret SNCF. “We can’t let this go by without doing anything”says Fabien Villedieu, Sud-Rail federal secretary. The agreement signed with Europe also provides for the capital to be opened up to the private sector at the beginning of 2026. The unions denounce this as privatization, which SNCF management disputes, since the rail group will retain a majority stake. “It’s a privatization process in the broadest sense of the word”.says Thierry Nier, General Secretary of CGT-Cheminots. “The same process applied to Fret will apply to passengers tomorrow”he continues.

The unions are concerned about the “filialisation On December 14, around 1,200 railway workers in Amiens, Nice and Nantes will be transferred from SNCF Voyageurs to dedicated companies that have won regional tenders for the TER market. The transferred railway workers will retain certain benefits (pension rights, traffic facilities, etc.), but will also see their working hours reorganized to boost productivity. “There is a very strong awareness (among railway workers) that these structural changes are obviously not going in the right direction.”assures CFDT-Cheminots General Secretary Thomas Cavel.