WAITING: Some Eurostar passengers have had to wait six hours before being able to board the train
While French customs officers, who demand additional resources for the Brexit, continue their zeal strike , passengers of the Eurostar are the first to suffer the consequences, with queues lengthened by several hours, reveals BFMTV , this Monday.
En raison de la grève du zèle des Douanes françaises, tous nos services de Paris à Londres continuent de subir des retards importants et le temps d’attente dépasse maintenant les 5 heures. Nous conseillons à nos passagers au départ de Paris de ne voyager que si nécessaire.
— Eurostar (@Eurostar) March 16, 2019
On strike since early March, French customs demand an increase in the additional allowance of customs officers, an increase in staff, but especially the provision of additional resources to face the Brexit. Last Thursday, the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition had however granted the French subsidiary of Eurostar (EFR) a railway license that will allow trains to circulate even in case of exit from Europe without agreement .
Up to six hours waiting to board
But this solution was not enough to calm the grumbling of the French customs who decided to continue their strike of the zeal, putting in place more numerous controls and more pushed. At Gare du Nord , the boarding gate of the Eurostar, the agents now control one out of six baggage instead of one out of every 20 in normal times, considerably lengthening the waiting times for passengers.
On Twitter, the passengers of the line connecting Paris to London , who have sometimes waited six hours before boarding, are many to have expressed their dissatisfaction.
Grève du zèle à Paris Gare du Nord. Queue estimée à 3h, j’ai déjà fait 2h, on tient le bon bout! #Eurostar #FrenchInTheUK #AutriceEnRésidence pic.twitter.com/azpczSkHqo
— Lou Sarabadzic (@lousarabadzic) March 16, 2019
Gare du nord – départ imminent du 1er Eurostar direction Londres depuis 10h ce matin – #Brexit #grevesdouaniers pic.twitter.com/MTl3xfBoEp
— Matthieu culleron (@mattculN1) March 19, 2019
@douane_france merci pour ces 3h de mise en jambe(debout/statique) pour prendre l eurostar. Familles avec petits, personnes âgées…un pur bonheur merci! pic.twitter.com/wNJBmcW008
— Pierre Gelis (@pgel92) March 24, 2019
Et pour info 6 heures d’attente Gare du Nord aujourd’hui pour prendre l’Eurostar suite grève des douaniers pic.twitter.com/1Wbpl1fKTA
— Alex Taylor (@AlexTaylorNews) March 20, 2019
7 heures d’attente #eurostar pic.twitter.com/ejhN38IZyW
— PAPA GASTRO (@MaximeBehar) March 20, 2019
And to ward off fate, this Sunday, it is the X-ray machine that has made his, adding to the disruption related to the social movement, says BFMTV.
In mid-March, the government had proposed a boost of 14 million euros for the profession, an increase of 55 euros net for all agents. But the proposal was deemed insufficient by the unions.
