Just sixty years ago, the Franco-German Youth Office (FGYO) was created. On this occasion, the two countries will offer 60,000 passes to young people aged 18 to 27 so that they can travel freely on the rail network of the neighboring country, with seven days of travel offered over a period of one month.
This initiative, financed by the German government, the French East, Deutsche Bahn and SNCF, was decided at the Franco-German Council of Ministers last January to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty. This treaty, signed by General de Gaulle and German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer on 22 January 1963, sealed reconciliation between their two countries, notably through the FGYO.
Seven days of unlimited travel
If you want to know Berlin, Hamburg and the Baltic shores in the north of the country or Munich and Bavaria in the south, the platform for allocating passes must open Monday morning at 10 am on the site passefranceallemagne.fr on the principle of "first come, first served", said the office of the Minister Delegate for Transport Clément Beaune. during a presentation of the project to journalists. 15,000 passes will be distributed to the fastest.
⏱️⏱️ D-2 before the launch of the Pass France Germany for 18-27 year olds! 🇫🇷🇩🇪🇪🇺
Starting Monday, 60,000 passes will be distributed for free!
Go to https://t.co/jFvnb4jsde pic.twitter.com/SuUUvee9x2
— Clement Beaune (@CBeaune) June 10, 2023
Half of the 60,000 passes are for young French citizens and residents and the other half for young Germans. They will allow "travel from July 1 to December 31 for a Frenchman in Germany and a German in France and to have unlimited access to the rail network," said the firm.
This offer will be valid for all lines, both regional and high-speed, for one month from the first trip made. It will then make it possible to make seven days of unlimited journeys.
Priority to scholarship students, young apprentices or students in integration
On the French side, half of the 30,000 passes will be distributed in priority to "scholarship students, young apprentices or young people in integration (...) the idea is that young people further away from Germany have access to this free and unlimited pass," explained Clément Beaune's office.
Regarding apprentices, "the objective is to organize the distribution of these tickets to deserving apprentices or who have won excellence competitions within their own organizations," according to the office of Carole Grandjean, the minister in charge of Education and Vocational Training.
For example, about 100 tickets will be reserved for the winners of the best apprentice competition and several thousand are intended for the network of apprenticeship training centres (CFAs).
