A work-to-rule strike by French customs officers warning they are not ready for Brexit is likely to stretch into next week and cause further chaos on Eurostar trains and channel ports, reports The Guardian.
At the Gare du Nord in Paris on Wednesday, hundreds of passengers queued in lines stretching the full length of the station, with an estimated six-hour wait for trains to the UK. Eurostar has encouraged people not to travel at all between Paris and London this week if they could avoid it.
French customs officers are into their third week of industrial action over long-running anger at working conditions, saying a lack of preparation for a no-deal Brexit was the final straw.
Instead of walking off the job, customs officers are diligently carrying out longer and more rigorous checks than usual, to demonstrate what might happen if full border controls are put in place after Brexit, particularly in the case of no deal.
Union leaders said customs officers at the Eurostar terminal were simply asking two or three extra questions of passengers – which was causing acute delays and train cancellations.
When the action began at Calais and Dunkirk ports on March 4th, customs officers simply carried out vehicle checks and requested registration documents, resulting in two weeks of lengthy tailbacks for trucks waiting to cross to Britain.