Travel from Belgium is set to be heavily affected this Wednesday by a grassroots movement in France to "block everything" over proposed austerity measures.
French trade unions for rail workers and air traffic controllers have called for industrial action, while groups of protesters are planning to block motorway tolls and 'occupy' locations around the country.
A flight to Marseille has been cancelled from Brussels Airport, and other flights to France are experiencing delays.
Today, no Eurostar trains have been officially cancelled, and 'services are not affected', a spokesperson told The Brussels Times that services "could experience disruptions". On the other side of the border, there will be delays and cancellations on domestic trains and public transport, including in the north of the country and on the Paris metro system. The SNCF expected high-speed TGV lines to run at "mostly" normal capacity.
An air traffic controller's strike will primarily affect airports in southern France, notably Nice and Marseille. Wednesday evening's Brussels Airlines flight from Zaventem to Marseille has been cancelled as a "precautionary measure", the airline told The Brussels Times. "We are monitoring the situation and can adjust our flight schedule if necessary, in which case we will inform our passengers as soon as possible".
As of Wednesday morning, flights to other French destinations — Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, and Nice — are unaffected, but further changes to the schedule could still happen.
The ‘Bloquons tout’ ('Let’s block everything') movement began in reaction to austerity measures set out in July by François Bayrou, whose government was brought down after a no-confidence vote on Monday evening. The now-former Prime Minister's 2026 budget proposal included removing two bank holidays and reducing healthcare spending.
While initially a decentralised movement coordinated from Telegram groups, some trade unions have since joined the call for a nationwide shutdown.
The open-source map below, created by organisers, documents the various actions which have been planned around France and beyond, including road blocks and motorway toll 'occupations'. Protests are expected to take place on several major roads in the north, including the A2 leading up to the Belgian border via Valenciennes.
Protests could also extend to Belgium, with a 'Yellow Vests' group in Namur having called for similar action this Wednesday after displaying banners over motorways in Wallonia last week.
Travel to and from France will also be disrupted next week, with even larger-scale industrial action affecting both trains and air travel due to take place on 18 September.
