After the RER B, the RATP unions called for a strike on the RER A for Saturday May 28, the day of the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in Saint-Denis, at the Stade de France. The CGT, FO, Unsa and La Base unions denounce “the lack of staff maintained for several years by the management of the RER” at the RATP.
They protest against “staff optimization” and call for a “strong impact” on the Champions League final for which a “fan zone” supposed to accommodate tens of thousands of English supporters will also be set up in the Cours de Vincennes, in the east of Paris. “The RATP will take all possible measures to ensure the mobility of Ile-de-France residents for Saturday’s match,” reacted a spokesperson for the Régie.
The strike could however have limited consequences because the RATP only operates the southern part of the RER B. From the Gare du Nord, it is the SNCF which manages the line towards Saint-Denis and the Stade de France . Regarding the RER A, the RATP manages most of the line, except for the section from Nanterre-Préfecture to Cergy and Poissy.
RATP management blames driver staffing problems for a high failure rate on “series”, RER driving training sessions, at the end of 2021 and early 2022. It therefore proposed to organize two “series “ additional on the RER A as well as on the B in the second half of 2022, “which brings to eight the number of series planned during the year on line A and to five on line B”, can we read in a internal document consulted by AFP.
