“Trains to London will not run today, we invite you to exchange your tickets for the next few days! » From their megaphones, Eurostar employees at Gare du Nord address a crowd of disgruntled travelers.
Unexpected problem for those who were planning to reach England before Christmas: the Channel Tunnel is closed because of a surprise strike by French employees of Eurotunnel, a subsidiary of the Getlink group, launched Thursday at midday. They stopped work to obtain three times more than the 1,000 euros end-of-year bonus that management offered them.
And in the large, crowded hall of Europe’s first station, travelers are stamping their feet. “We’ve been waiting here for two hours. We have not received any help,” criticizes Rughani Tushar, an American tourist supposed to reach London from Paris. “We’ve looked at flights, but we can’t find any available until tomorrow. »
The price of plane tickets is rising…
Many travelers, with their eyes glued to their phones, are also trying to find an alternative solution, even if it means completely recalculating their itineraries. Catherine Leray, for example, planned with her family to reach Calais, via Lille, by train, and then board a ferry to England. “It’s going to be chaotic, we don’t know what time we’re going to arrive,” she predicts.
Sitting cross-legged on the station floor, her computer open in front of her and balanced on her suitcase, Claudia Roberts tries to find plane tickets to join her family for the holidays. “It’s an extra expense that I really could have done without with my student budget,” laments this 21-year-old British student on a university exchange in Nantes. “Plane tickets are over £200!” » At least 230 euros.
“It’s typical of the French”
Catherine, 80, was supposed to join her son in London for the end of year celebrations. “I had made my passport on purpose,” she says, visibly disappointed and upset. She does not know if she will be able to join her loved ones. “It’s really typical of the French,” says Tim Kelsey, a fifty-year-old from Oxford.
Fortunately, LThe strike was lifted around 7:30 p.m. and Eurostar announced a return of traffic in the evening.