Franco-German relations had to be warmed up.
And so it will go through… the train.
France and Germany will introduce in the summer "a binational ticket" for young people, 60,000 of which will be free, "in order to encourage train travel within the two countries", the two governments announced on Sunday. the outcome of a Franco-German Council of Ministers in Paris.
A diplomatic-ecological measure in a way.
"To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty" which sealed the reconciliation between the two countries, "60,000 tickets will be made available free of charge, according to terms and conditions which will be specified shortly", affirm the Ministers of Transport of the two countries, Clément Beaune and Volker Missing, in a joint press release.
The two States promise financial support for this system set up by SNCF and Deutsche Bahn (DB).
A Paris-Berlin TGV coming soon
Paris and Berlin also say they "support" the development in 2024 of a direct high-speed rail link between the two capitals as well as a night train connecting the two European capitals.
The two railway companies had announced in May this TGV Paris-Berlin for December 2023.
SNCF and Deutsche Bahn have already run high-speed trains, TGV and ICE, between France and Germany together since the opening of the first section of the Paris-Strasbourg high-speed line in June 2007.