Latest update : 2009-12-22
Who is to blame for travel chaos?
French Press Review: Almost all of the national papers in France lead with the break-down of rail services locally, nationally and internationally in the past few days.
Train services have been interrupted across France in the past few days but the business paper La Tribune is most concerned by the fall-out of cancelled Eurostar trains between London and Paris. It asks some tough questions. Why have passengers been so badly informed about cancellations? Why didn’t Eurostar organize alternative transport for its customers? Why are they being compensated less than for the average flight cancellation?
Left-leaning paper, Libération, is more understanding. Nicolas Sarkozy summoned the head of SNCF yesterday to ask for an explanation for the travel chaos but the editorial says the weather is largely to blame. Ships have been kept in port, planes have been grounded and snow has stopped trains from leaving the station. Even the best technology can’t get around bad weather, the paper insists.
SNCF has taken out a full-page ad in most of the daily papers to explain (but not apologise for!) the chaos.
Other stories in today’s French papers:
Le Parisien
Ten most popular French personalities
Libération
Advice for the perfect New Year’s dinner
