SNCF tickets reignite ‘no children’ debate in France

State railway operator SNCF has reignited a debate on child-free spaces after launching new business class tickets which barred under-12s.

The ‘Optimum Plus’ tariff, which was introduced in January on the Paris-Lyon line, was marketed as offering “a calm space on board”. Other benefits include wider seats to “offer privacy”, access to exclusive lounges at stations and an onboard meal.

The tickets are aimed at business travellers and are only valid from Monday to Friday.

In the face of a public outcry over the no-children policy, SNCF first dug itself into a deeper hole by justifying the measure.

“The Optimum seats occupy just 8% of those which are available on our trains from Monday to Friday,” said Gaëlle Babault, director of tickets for the InOui train service, in a video posted on social media.

“That is to say 92% of the seats on our trains during the week are open to all and 100% at weekends.”

SNCF also stressed that the absence of young children was “nothing new,” as “this had already been the case for years” in Business Première areas.

The explanations did little to calm the storm, with some commentators drawing parallels to France’s declining birth rate.

“We can’t on one hand say that we are not having enough children and on the other hand try to exclude them from everywhere,” said Sarah El Haïry, France’s high commissioner for childhood.

Loiret MP Constance de Pélichy submitted a bill on January 27 aimed at banning ‘no-children’ areas in France, in response to the Optimum Plus offer.

“Imagine replacing ‘children’ with another category of the population?” she said.

Following the public outcry, references to a minimum age were removed from SNCF’s ticket advertising at the end of January.

'No kids trend'

Last year the government launched a label to promote shops and restaurants that welcome children in a bid to tackle what it called a “no kids trend”.

The red sticker bears the phrase le choix des familles (the choice of families) and a logo of a pushchair. 

“There has been a noticeable increase in places labeled ‘no kids’ in France in recent years,” said historian Sylvain Wagnon, professor of education sciences at the University of Montpellier, who has researched the changing role of children in public spaces.

“I think that whoever dreamed up the idea at SNCF and all the people who signed off on it just surfed the wave without thinking, and did not realise that “no-kids” certainly does not translate to public spaces or to publicly owned companies.”

He told The Connexion that the rapid turnaround once the issue hit the newspapers was gratifying.

“Behind it is a question about the society we live in: whether we are prepared to put up with discrimination, which is illegal in France.

“If you start discriminating against children, how long before you decide that old people should be banned from trains too, because they do not always move as fast as you would like?”

Former prime minister Jean Castex, who now runs SNCF, said he was “astonished” by the scale of controversy.

The father of four told French media: “It is mad, completely mad. On our trains, not only are children welcome, but they are increasingly numerous.”

He claimed that in 2025, 8.4 million children travelled on the SNCF network, “a very strong increase compared to five years earlier”. 

He added: “If children and families did not enjoy being on trains they would not come.

“But you can see they are travelling by train more and more often.”

New service for children

SNCF has a special service allowing children aged between four and 14 to travel on long-distance trains by themselves, under the watch of dedicated SNCF staff.

The service, which has been in place for nearly 50 years, is mainly used during summer holidays when many working parents pack their offspring off to cousins or grandparents. Prices start from €41.

And in the 1980s, some of the Corail passenger carriages were fitted out with jungle bars and other playground equipment to entertain children during the train journey.

Commentators point out that both Switzerland and Germany usually have special carriages on long-distance trains reserved for families.