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Senator questions French Minister for Transport about suspension of intermediate train stops

Published: 21 May, 2026 | Tags: ,

The issue of the suspended intermediate Eurostar stops has now reached the French Senate.

On 30 April 2026, French Senator Sophie Briante Guillemont formally questioned the French Minister of Transport on the five-year suspension of services at Ashford International, Ebbsfleet International and Calais-Fréthun. BBET has been actively engaged in building the cross-Channel coalition that made this question possible.

Unlike the UK, France gives its citizens living abroad direct representation in both chambers of French Parliament. Eleven members of the Assemblée Nationale (lower chamber) and twelve senators (upper chamber) are elected specifically to represent the French diaspora worldwide. Senator Sophie Briante Guillemont holds one of those Senate seats.

Her question, the first time the French government has been formally challenged on the closure of these stations, places the issue in a broader European context:

  • the added travel burden on French residents in Kent and south-east England,
  • the economic impact on the Hauts-de-France region (between Calais and Lille),
  • the climate case for rail services
  • the responsibility of the French state as Eurostar’s majority shareholder through SNCF.

She also raised the specific question of juxtaposed border controls, a legal prerequisite for any resumption of services.

Under Senate rules, the government has two months to respond. The government’s answer, when it comes, will be a significant milestone: it will place on the public record where France stands on the reopening of these stations, and give us powerful new leverage in our conversations with Eurostar and both governments.

Full text of Senator Sophie Briante Guillemont’s question

The question from Ms Sophie Briante Guillemont (reprensenting French nationals established outside France), was published 30/04/2026 and is available here https://www.senat.fr/questions/base/2026/qSEQ260408578.html

Ms Sophie Briante Guillemont wishes to draw the attention of the Minister of Transport to the suspension, since March 2020, of Eurostar services at the intermediate stations of Ashford International, Ebbsfleet International and Calais-Fréthun.

Initially presented as a temporary measure, this suspension now appears to be lasting, despite the significant consequences it creates for French nationals living in the United Kingdom, particularly in Kent, East Sussex and south London. They are now forced to travel via London St Pancras to reach the continent, adding approximately 2 hours 20 minutes to their round trip and generating substantial additional costs.

This situation also penalises economic, tourism and cultural exchanges between France and the United Kingdom, particularly for the Hauts-de-France region which is heavily dependent on British visitors. It furthermore acts as a barrier to modal shift towards rail, which is essential in the fight against climate change, given that trains produce significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions than aircraft.

She further notes that the French state, through SNCF, is the majority shareholder in Eurostar who currently refuses any resumption of these services. Meanwhile new entrants on the London-Paris route are considering, in a context of market liberalisation, serving these intermediate stations.

She reminds the Minister that the effective reopening of Ashford International station would require the establishment of juxtaposed border controls involving the presence of French authorities on British soil in accordance with existing agreements, as an essential condition for the resumption of services.

In this context, she asks the Government whether it intends to actively support the reopening of the intermediate stations of Ashford International, Ebbsfleet International and Calais-Fréthun; what measures it envisages to ensure that the necessary human and technical resources are put in place for French border controls at Ashford; whether any commitments regarding services to these stations were made at the time of Eurostar’s 2021 refinancing, in which the state participated as a shareholder; and finally, how it intends to engage as a shareholder state to promote a greater consideration of the public interest in Eurostar’s strategy.

She thus wishes to know the Government’s intentions on this strategic matter for the mobility of French nationals abroad, the development of the territories concerned, and the strengthening of Franco-British cooperation.