French rail unions announce joint strike action on June 10
Groups declare ‘state of emergency’ on French rail network
It is the first rail strike backed by all four major unions in 2026
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A major strike is set to impact French rail services on June 10, as four leading unions urge workers to walk out.
The one-day strike is backed by the CGT-Cheminots, Sud-Rail, Unsa-Ferroviaire and CFDT-Cheminots branches, who have all filed motions for the day.
In a joint statement published Wednesday (May 6), the unions declared “a state of emergency in the face of the increasing number of tragedies (workplace accidents, sick leave, suicides) caused by the rampant restructuring and the process of creating subsidiaries,” out of France’s state-owned rail operator the SNCF.
“We refuse to go along with these transformations.”
In addition, unions are calling for “genuine wage negotiations.”
“Energy bills and consumer prices rose by 2.2% in April 2026, after a 1.7% increase in March. Inflation continues with no prospect of improvement,” which is impacting workers, the statement said.
The motion covers all types of workers associated with the rail network.
Brute force tactics
It is the second national rail strike of 2026 but the first to be backed by all four major unions. A strike in January 2026 caused little disruption and saw only SUD-Rail and the CGT file motions.
It points towards a new – or new attempt at old – tactics by unions.
Singular days of strike action backed by several unions are a traditional tactic aimed at causing maximum havoc and showing the strength of major walkouts.
However, recent attempts in 2024 and 2025 to strike on single days were largely thwarted by the SNCF via the use of volunteer staff to cover shortages, leading to minimal disruption.
Unions then tried strike motions covering larger periods – including much of summer 2025 – giving workers the chance to strike sporadically across the nation or in a specific region.
It was hoped the short notice and localised method would lead to last-minute issues that could not be solved by volunteers, but again this caused little overall disruption to services.
Exact levels of disruption will be known closer to the time, and the SNCF must publish revised timetables no later than 17:00 on the day prior to the strike (in this case, June 9).
National strike action usually impacts high-speed TGVs (both InOui and OuiGo routes) as well as Intercités trains, with disruption on regional TER trains varying throughout.
International services may be impacted, particularly if run by the SNCF.
Our article here explains how to obtain reimbursement for a train journey impacted by strike action. Note in some cases the SNCF may offer to exchange the ticket for another journey, if there are available spaces.
