Unions on Thursday announced the end of an unexpected strike by French workers at Eurotunnel, the undersea link between Britain and continental Europe. The strike interrupted cross-Channel rail traffic earlier Thursday, threatening the Christmas holiday plans of many travellers.
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The surprise strike over bonus pay caused massive disruptions on the busy London-Paris route. Some trains had to return to the French capital just before reaching Londonprompting the French government to call the industrial action “unacceptable”.
Thousands of travellers were stranded at the Gare du Nord high-speed train terminal in Paris.
“We were probably like half an hour from reaching London, suddenly, we hear this announcement,” Sonia Kapur, a 50-year old American tourist told Reuters.
“Then finally, they said ‘There’s a strike, we have to go back to Paris.’ So that was devastating, because we have a lot of plans,” she added.
Getlink, the operator of the cross-Channel tunnel used by train company Eurostar, said the strike called by French unions had resulted in an interrupted service and the closure of terminals in France and Britain.
The company said trade unions had rejected a bonus payment of 1,000 euros ($1,097.60) announced by management, demanding that the amount be trebled.
Trade union officials at the company could not immediately be reached for comment.
The blocking of the Channel Tunnel is unacceptable.
A solution must be found immediately. I am committed to it.
I call on everyone to be responsible, to ensure traffic and departures on vacation in good conditions#Getlink
— Clement Beaune (@CBeaune) December 21, 2023
French Transport Minister Clement Beaune said the strike was unacceptable. “A solution must be found immediately,” he added in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Train operator Eurostar said on X: “We would recommend postponing your journey if you can, even if it’s until tomorrow.”
“Well, it’s a bit of a pain, but there’s not really much we can do about it,” said 50 year-old Corrina Lynn, a British tourist from Essex who was heading to London from Paris.
“It’s the stuff of nightmares that you really don’t want to happen. But we’re just going to have to deal with it and try to figure something out,” she added.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)