Euro 2016: French strikes wreck travel plans for thousands of football fans and tourists
On the eve of the first games for England and Wales, many flights and trains have been cancelled
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Demand for travel to Marseille for England’s first match of Euro 2016 is so high that the six British Airways flights before the game are all full, and easyJet has only a few seats available at £365 one-way. But thousands of fans hoping to dodge the squeeze and high prices by routing themselves via Paris face disappointment: strikes by rail workers and airline pilots have cut much of the the capacity between the French capital and Marseille.
Air France said that despite the pilots’ strike, called over a range of issues, most travellers will be unaffected.
The airline plans to operate more than 90 per cent of long-haul flights, three out of four European flights to and from Paris, and nine out of 10 domestic flights. However, England fans hoping to fly from or via Paris to reach Marseille in time for Saturday’s match could find their plans wrecked.
Four of the seven Air France flights on Saturday between Paris and Marseille have been cancelled, and the airline warned “last-minute disturbances” could add to the list of axed departures.
Three flights from Paris to Bordeaux, where Wales take on Slovakia in their first match, have also been cancelled.
Some services connecting Heathrow, Birmingham and Glasgow with Paris have been grounded by the pilots’ strike.
Railway workers are among the groups protesting about plans to liberalise French labour laws. Their indefinite strike has had only patchy effects so far. But many of the expected 2.5m foreign football fans will be planning travel by train between fixtures.
On Europe 1 Radio, the transport minister Alain Vidalies said: “There will be no more negotiating.” He said that the government was prepared to requisition trains to get fans to their teams’ matches.
The British company Stagecoach may benefit from the disruption, with fans switching to its Megabus network in France.
The continued disarray of organised transport in France has boosted interest in car-sharing, with the French website Bla Bla Car offering a 5am ride from London to Marseille on Saturday morning for £89. A car from Cardiff to Bordeaux for Wales's first game departed full at lunchtime on Friday.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments