Police in France to travel for free on SNCF trains from 2022 if armed

Police officers will be able to travel for free on SNCF trains in France from January 1, 2022, interior minister Gérald Darmanin announced yesterday (September 3).

He said it was a win-win situation that would allow “trains to be more secure and facilitate the lives of our officers”.

The agreement with the rail company will mean that police officers will be able to travel between their home and workplace for free if they are armed and if they notify the conductor.

The price of the tickets will be covered by the interior ministry.

As for non-work-related travel, police officers will pay 25% of the ticket price from 2022 onwards, a sum that will be “compensated by SNCF vouchers, which can be used by family members, for example.

From 2023 onwards, non-work-related travel will be completely free of charge for the police officers, as long as they are armed and notify the conductor.

Police unions have long been calling for free transport. This new agreement with SNCF is to be presented to them officially on Monday (September 6).

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