Paris–Normandy rail strike on 9–10 October: what the law guarantees when your train is cancelled

What is happening

On Friday 9 and Saturday 10 October 2026, service on some trains between Paris and Normandy is disrupted (perturbé) because SNCF ticket inspectors in Normandy are on strike. According to France 3 Normandie, the strike followed an attack on a ticket inspector on a Paris–Rouen train on 2 October; the demands are put forward by four unions — CGT, SUD-Rail, UNSA and CFDT.

Five lines of the Nomad network are affected:

• Paris – Rouen – Le Havre;
• Paris – Caen – Cherbourg;
• Paris – Lisieux – Trouville/Deauville;
• Paris – Vernon – Rouen;
• Paris – Évreux – Serquigny.

Service on the rest of the network is reported as normal. Check Saturday separately: a train that runs on Friday may be cancelled on Saturday, and vice versa.

The strike will end; the question “what am I entitled to when my train is cancelled?” will not, because transport disruption is a regular part of life in France. Here is what French law and the EU regulation say.

At least 24 hours’ notice

The Code des transports has a whole chapter on keeping transport running during foreseeable disruption (“perturbation prévisible de trafic”). Article L1222-8 gives every passenger the right to free, accurate and reliable information about the service that will run, and requires the operator to announce a foreseeable disruption no later than 24 hours before it starts.

In practice, there is no point turning up at the station on a strike day and hoping. The list of trains that will run is published the day before; according to press reports, this time passengers were told to check their train’s status from 5 p.m. the previous evening.

Unused ticket: exchange, refund or season-ticket extension

Article L1222-12 of the same code: a passenger who could not use the service they bought a ticket or season ticket for is entitled to:

• an extension of the season ticket for the period they lost;
• or an exchange or refund of the unused ticket or season ticket.

The refund is made by whoever sold you the ticket or pass. And if the operator, through its own fault, failed to deliver the announced service plan or information plan, Article L1222-11 requires a full refund of tickets in proportion to how long the plan was not delivered.

Press reports say free exchange and refund have been announced for Nomad tickets on the strike days.

Delays: a strike is not “force majeure”

EU Regulation 2021/782 on rail passengers’ rights (adopted 29 April 2021, applicable since 7 June 2023) provides:

• if a train is expected to arrive 60 minutes or more late, passengers must be offered a choice: a refund, re-routing at the earliest opportunity, or travel at a later date of their choosing;
• compensation for delay: 25% of the ticket price for 60–119 minutes and 50% for 120 minutes or more, calculated on the price actually paid;
• the operator may set a minimum below which no compensation is paid, but that threshold cannot exceed €4 per ticket.

The operator escapes compensation only if it proves the cause was extreme weather, a major natural disaster, a major public-health crisis, the passenger’s own fault, or third parties whose actions it could not prevent. Article 19 states explicitly that strikes by the rail company’s own staff are not covered by that exception.

A caveat: the regulation allows member states to exempt urban, suburban and regional services from part of its rules (Article 2). For regional trains, check the exact compensation terms in the operator’s conditions.

Common mistakes

• Throwing the ticket away. Without it, exchange, refund and compensation are much harder to obtain. The regulation also requires the operator to certify a delay or cancellation on request — it is worth asking.
• Forgetting the return leg. The strike lasts two days: the outbound trip on Friday may run fine while the Saturday return turns up on the cancellation list.
• Assuming that a strike means nobody owes you anything. As shown above, both French law and the EU regulation set out passenger rights for exactly this situation.

Sources: Code des transports, Articles L1222-8, L1222-11, L1222-12, version in force since 1 December 2010 (Legifrance); Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of 29 April 2021 (EUR-Lex). Strike details and affected lines: France 3 Normandie, 7 October 2026.