transportation
Docker strike brings port activity to standstill in French ports
Up to 95% of activity set to be halted today, but passenger ferries should remain unaffected
A strike by French dockworkers is affecting 24 ports across France today, with up to 95% of activity expected to come to a standstill.
The 24-hour strike was called by the CGT union, which represents around 90% of employees in the sector. Employees have been instructed not to engage in any loading or unloading work.
It is part of a wider strike among dockworkers in around 20 countries, under the slogan ‘Ports for Peace, Decent Jobs’.
Strike action is concentrated on cargo activity, and passenger ferries are not set to be affected.
The Connexion received confirmation from DFDS that no scheduled sailings today are set to be impacted, and both the Brittany Ferries and Irish Ferries websites show no disruption from the strikes in their live journey trackers.
Passenger services to and from Corsica as well as other destinations in the Mediterranean are likewise set to run as scheduled today, although there may be minor disruption.
However, travellers planning to sail today are advised to keep up to date with their travel operator to see if their journey has been impacted, or call them in advance to confirm the journey is still going ahead.
Parcels face delays
“95% of port activity will be at a standstill,” on Friday, Tony Hautbois, General Secretary of the CGT dockworkers' union told AFP at the start of the week.
The union claims to represent 95% of dockers involved in loading and unloading cargo, and 87.5% of employees in port cargo handling.
This does not extend to port operations including passenger ferries.
The international strike was called by unions in a bid to ‘demilitarise’ ports, with demands to stop using ports to transfer military equipment.
The CGT union also highlighted its opposition to the proposed 2027 budget when joining the strike action, as well as the increase in automation of port jobs.
The strike, therefore, will mostly disrupt freight operations, leaving a backlog of cargo to be processed at ports.
Freight professionals estimate that this could take up to four days to clear, leading to delivery delays for those who have ordered parcels from overseas.
Businesses may face storage costs for goods left in ports, and perishable goods could go off while in storage.
Ports facing disruption are as follows: Boulogne, Brest, Dunkirk, Calais, La Rochelle, Le Havre, Rouen, Paris (Haropa), Lorient, Marseille, Roscoff, Bayonne, Bastia, Bordeaux, Réunion, Nice, Ajaccio, Saint-Nazaire, Port-Vendres, Saint-Malo, Cherbourg, Sète, Toulon, and Fos-sur-Mer.
