SNCF traffic disrupted on the TER and RER, schools closed... What to expect for the day of strike and mobilization on Thursday November 5?

Are we going to experience a Black Thursday? This November 5, unions are calling for an inter-professional day of strikes and demonstrations throughout France to defend wages and purchasing power. While the government has not yet decided on the probably anticipated increase in the minimum wage on December 1st and its scale, the public and private sectors are called upon to mobilize.

After a new blockade of high schools at the start of the week, and faced with inflation at its highest level since January 2024 (3.4% over one year at the end of October), young people and yellow vests are joining the movement planned for this Thursday. So, what to expect concretely? Overview of the main expected impacts.

The SNCF anticipates disrupted traffic on regional and Ile-de-France lines. The four organizations representing the SNCF (CGT, Unsa railway, Sud Rail and CFDT) have jointly called a strike. Management anticipates “disrupted” traffic on most regional and Ile-de-France lines and “slightly disrupted” for TGVs. In Île-de-France, certain RER and transilien lines managed by SNCF will also be disrupted.

Here are the forecasts: • Normal traffic: RER A, lines K, P and V • 2 trains out of 3: RER B south of Paris Nord, RER E, lines J and L, as well as between Meaux and La Ferté-Milon on line P • 1 train out of 2: RER B north of Paris Nord, RER C, lines H, N, R and U • 1 train out of 3: RER D The RATP was expecting, for its part, traffic on Tuesday "normal" on its metros, buses and trams, with the exception of the RER B. On the maritime side, CGT dockers will be on strike in all French ports. They set the tone on Friday with a 24-hour strike that blocked all ports.

A strike notice for air traffic controllers (DGAC officials) has been filed by the CGT (USACcgt), FO (FEETS-FO), SUD Aérien and Unsa Aérien. The traffic reduction recommendations sent to companies, detailed by airport, should be known on Wednesday evening. Yellow vests are also planning actions on certain roads, roundabouts or highways, the scale of which is difficult to anticipate.

Thus, in Strasbourg, a blockage is planned on the A35 from 8:00 a.m. In Isère, the Peasant Confederation must organize a filter dam in Voreppe, near a toll on the A48. A strike normally "well followed" in schools, middle schools and high schools For schools, the Ministry of National Education estimates the rate of strikers on Thursday at 17.54% in public primary education.

If it considers it "difficult to set a national average" from Wednesday, the Snuipp-FSU, the leading primary school union, says it expects a strong mobilization on Thursday, with in particular "one in two teachers on strike in Oise, 40% in Eure-et-Loir and between 50 and 70% in Ille-et-Vilaine". “In Seine-Saint-Denis, forecasts reach up to 75% in certain sectors, while in Paris, we have already identified nearly 80 schools closed,” adds the union. For Sophie Vénétitay, the general secretary of Snes-FSU, the leading middle and high school union, the strike should be “well followed” in secondary education.

Machine-translated from French