French state to absorb 35bln euros of rail company's debts
In a fresh round of negotiations on Friday between the French government and rail union officials leading rolling strikes in protest at planned reforms to shakeup the publicly-owned SNCF railways company, including the introduction of private competition, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has proposed that the state will absorb most of the company's debts of 47 billion euros in return for an end to the dispute.
EmmanuelEmmanuel Macron’s government, hoping to end a protracted French train strike, offered on Friday to soak up most of the national SNCF rail company’s debt as long as modernisation plans to make the railways more cost-effective are implemented, reports Euronews.
