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Around two months ago (in October), I bought a TGV train ticket to travel from Paris to Nantes to spend my vacation for Christmas.

However, since the 5th of December, train companies are on strike, and there's no telling when it's going to be over (they announced an unlimited strike). Since then, I noticed some trains were already cancelled.

Assuming my train will get cancelled (I won't be able to know until 1 or 2 days before departure), are there any different means of travelling within the country without trains nor planes?

I was thinking about taxi or Uber drivers, but I don't know if any of them would accept to drive 500 kilometers (311 miles) to the other side of France.

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    My first reflex would be checking the car sharing options.
    – Dmitry Grigoryev
    Dec 12, 2019 at 12:18
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    I'd go for blablacar
    – Thomas Ayoub
    Dec 12, 2019 at 13:48
  • Taxi would be insanely expensive though. You pay for the trip back-forth under those circumstances.
    – Kheldar
    Dec 12, 2019 at 18:58

6 Answers 6

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Taxis would typically be happy to do it but you might have to phone a taxi operator directly. If you have trouble finding a taxi then looking specifically for this service ("taxi longue distance") on Google turns up many results. I personally know taxi drivers who provided this service (sometimes to deliver a parcel rather than a person). Private drivers can do it to (I saw some offers on Eurecab) but the biggest platforms (Uber, Kapten…) do not offer trip this long through their app. The price would however be prohibitive for most people (several hundreds to over a thousand euros).

Cheaper means of transportation that remain available:

  • Flights (although there are disruptions there too and you specified no planes)
  • Long distance busses, both BlaBlaBus and Flixbus operate between Paris and Nantes
  • Ridesharing, the market leader in France is BlaBlaCar
  • Renting a car, if you are so inclined, you can even post the ride on BlaBlaCar to share the costs. If you cannot count on a negotiated rate, you might however find that cars are running out and the price of a rental is already very high indeed (no cars available at Montparnasse next Friday, one-day one-way rental to Nantes from another agency within Paris with Avis starts at almost €400).
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  • 400 Euro for a pickup in Paris to be dropped off in Nantes isn't a bad price. Most of it will be the long distance drop off fees, rather than the rental itself.
    – jwenting
    Dec 12, 2019 at 5:54
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    @jwenting It is a bad price. I don't see any itemized fee but for the same trip on a May weekday, the rate would be €180. Meanwhile, one-day rentals with a return at the same pickup point also start in the €380-400 range (versus as little as €30 otherwise).
    – Relaxed
    Dec 12, 2019 at 9:12
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SNCF's website suggests the following alternatives during a strike:

  • Car rental with Avis (a traditional rental service)
  • Car rental with OuiCar (a service allowing private owners to rent out their cars)
  • Ride-sharing with BlaBlaCar (a long-distance ride-sharing service)
  • Bus service

For the first two options, there are 10% discount offers available on SNCF's website.

Unfortunately, I can't speak to the relative reliability, price, speed, etc. of these options; hopefully someone else will be able to do so in another answer.

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  • +1 for the link and 10% discount code. Note : Avis (and all the other usual suspects: Europcar, Sixt, etc.) would typically offer one-way intercity rentals (for a fee) whereas peer-to-peer car rental businesses and car sharing schemes (Ubeeqo, Car2Go) typically would not. In France, large supermarket chains also rent cars. They cover areas where international brands do not necessarily have a presence but I don't think one-way rental are available and they are not particularly convenient if you leave from Paris.
    – Relaxed
    Dec 11, 2019 at 12:54
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    10% discount codes for the big car rental companies are literally everywhere. Does anyone ever pay full price?
    – Mâtt Frëëman
    Dec 11, 2019 at 14:00
  • Hertz works fine too. Check your credit card, you might have a better discount.
    – Kheldar
    Dec 12, 2019 at 18:57
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I suggest you travel normally as though nothing is happening but take with you a lunch bag containing water and some food...as well as a blanket in case you need to wait couple of hours in an SNCF station.

Then hop on any train heading west from Paris (toward Nates trains 1st head south from Paris). If your train departs from Gare Montparnasse then you most likely find at least one train to Nantes specially when during Christmas yellow vest strikers are more likely to be kind to passengers. If you encounter crowds in Gare Montparnasse do not panic, just hop in any train heading to Nantes direction.

However, if your train departs from CDG TGV T2 then you receive info from SNCF within 24 hours whether it is cancelled or not. If cancelled then do not wait in CDG but instead take Direct-Bus for 18€ to Gare Montparnass (MP) because there are many more options in MP Gare. Direct-Bus runs from CDG terminals and drop you right at eastern entrance of MP Gare. If you carry minimal luggage then this can even be fun as you meet a lot of people along the way with similar conditions and in spirit of holidays.

Alternatively you can download Blabla App from France App Store and find appropriate transport from Paris to Nantes and then cancel your SNCF ticket. If you live outside France, you need first switch to France on your iPhone. Good luck.

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    BlaBlaCar is available through the web and in many European countries, no need to alter your phone's settings.
    – Relaxed
    Dec 11, 2019 at 23:40
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I happen to be taking the same TGV line (Paris -> Nantes ) this week-end during the strike!

First and foremost, you should double-check that your train is effectively cancelled (if so, you must have received a mail from the SNCF).

If you did not receive anything, you're good ! Your train departure will probably be fine.

If you've received a mail notification that your train have been cancelled, SNCF will offer you to reimburse your train ticket, or to exchange it free of charge for an other day. The later seems like the best option for you, it may mess up with your schedule a bit but it is worth considering.

One point worth mentioning is how will you go to Gare Montparnasse ? You should note that except for line 1 and line 14 which are working normally, every other line encounter issues.

Please see the annoucements by RATP (Paris metro lines) : https://twitter.com/ClientsRATP

At the moment, the traffic is:

  • Metro 1 and 14 are working fine
  • Metro 4,7,8,9 are perturbed, working only between 6h30-9h00 and 16h30-19h
  • Metro 2,3,5,6,7,10,11,12,13 are not working
  • RER are working between 6h30-9h00 and 16h30-19h

Since you have to go to Gare Montparnasse to get the train to Nantes, your best bet is to use line 4. Also use line 1 and 14 as much as possible!

If for any reason you do not want to take the train, then you could use the bus which will certainly be cheaper than a taxi ride. Some bus company are BlaBlaBus/Ouibus, FlixBus, Eurolines...

Finally there are a lot of electrical scooter in the street in Paris, or bike that you can rent (Velib') to go to the station.

Good luck!

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  • Eurolines doesn't exist anymore, it's been bought by Flixbus.
    – Relaxed
    Dec 12, 2019 at 14:32
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You could hitch hike. Its more common in France than nearby regions of Switzerland, Germany, UK or Italy, in my experience.

Of course there are some risks!

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Knowing very well the situation for strikes in France, few people realize that you can actually book in advance or pretty much instantly a transport provider (Taxi/VTC) for anywhere in France, no matter the distance on a website called monTransport.com.

---> https://monTransport.com

all you need to do is to put your departure and arrival address and choose between the options.

  • Whether you have a little time and you want to receive quotes for your trip, and then the companies will actually compete on a bidding system to get your booking.

  • or you choose to pay a fixed (somewhat a little bit more expensive, but hey, you pay for an instant booking) and then the website sends you the contact infos of your chauffeur for the trip.

We used that during our last holidays in France during the "yellow vests" strikes and it was a lifesaver !

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  • I like these lifesavers that we just have to know and yet we don't.
    – Clockwork
    Oct 9, 2020 at 6:33
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    What is your connection to the site you mention?
    – Willeke ♦
    Oct 9, 2020 at 8:12

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