The spectators of the final of the Champions League which must oppose, Saturday May 28, Liverpool to Real Madrid could encounter some difficulties to attend the meeting.
Initially planned in Saint Petersburg in Russia, it was relocated to the Stade de France after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. But the main trade unions of the RATP, which have called for a strike on the RER B for Saturday in order to denounce the understaffing among the drivers, have also called for a strike on the RER A.
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 “workforce optimization” and call to “strong impact” the Champions League final for which a “fan zone” supposed to welcome tens of thousands of English supporters will also be installed 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.
Limited consequences
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 on a high failure rate for “series”RER driving training sessions, end of 2021 and beginning of 2022.
She therefore proposed to organize two “series” additional services on RER A and on RER 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 an internal document consulted by Agence France-Presse.
The unions considered the proposal insufficient and pointed out that 34 retirements were planned in 2022 on line A and 22 on line B. “The malfunctions (…) will endure so long the proposal [de la direction] is weak “, they point out. The RATP has already been shaken this week by a three-day strike on its bus and tram network, while a smaller movement affected three metro lines on Wednesday.