After operating in slow motion for several months, SNCF will finally be able to resume normal traffic. Invited this Monday morning to the microphone of RTL , the Secretary of State for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari announced that 100% of the train supply would be available for booking from this weekend.
Read also: Strike and coronavirus cost the SNCF 4 billion euros, according to Djebbari
The demand must still follow. Jean-Baptiste Djebbari notes that " 35% of reservations [for the month of] July " have been made, ie " 30% less than last year ". " We are starting to have quite busy weekends, on the other hand noted the Secretary of State , with 45 to 50% of reservations ".
In urban public transport, the rules currently in force - namely first of all wearing a mask - should remain in force at least for the summer. While the president of the Île-de-France region sounded the alarm by announcing that the RATP could be in “ cessation of payments ” from July 8, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari wanted to brush aside the concerns: “ the public transport will continue to run in Île-de-France. It is imperative for Ile-de-France residents . ”
Faced with the disaffection for public transport, will the private car be the big winner of the post-coronavirus summer vacation? Jean-Baptiste Djebbari predicts a " postponement effect " towards the individual vehicle, seen by the French as a " sanitary haven ". However, lowering the price of motorway tolls is out of the question. " We must not fall into demagoguery: any reduction in tolls must be financed by taxes, " he said.
Citizens' Convention proposals to be examined
The citizens' convention, which completed its work and finalized its proposals for the ecological transition this weekend, also has its eyes riveted on the highways: it has proposed to limit the speed to 110km / h. On this ground, the secretary of state prefers to advance cautiously: “ the president will say what he intends to do with these proposals. They can find a place in a whole subject to a referendum, it will depend on the president ”.
Jean-Baptiste Djebbari adds: " I remember the effect of the 80 km / h, when I was a deputy ". In 2018, the lowering of the maximum authorized speed on 1x1 lane roads set fire to the powder.
The Secretary of State for Transport, on the other hand, said he was " fairly favorable " to another proposal of the Convention: instituting loans at zero rate for the purchase of a " clean " vehicle .
Keep an eye on low cost airlines
Jean-Baptiste Djebbari also returned to the aid of 7 billion euros granted by the State for the rescue of Air France: " if the State had not lent, tens of thousands of jobs would have been deleted, "he defended.
Read also: Air France job cuts will be announced to unions on July 3
To obtain this aid, Air France is committed to reducing its ecological footprint. Interior lines, which have rail alternatives in less than 2:30, are thus on the hot seat. The State now wants to ensure that low cost airlines will not take over the routes which Air France will have to give up: an order will be drawn up " very quickly " in this sense, then consultations with the regions will be organized.