France’s famous high-speed rail service TGV INOUI is facing a backlash after introducing new premium class vehicles that prohibit children from riding.
As of January 8, national railway operator SNCF is offering “Optimum” class on many TGV INOUI routes to and from Paris, according to the ticket sales website SNCF Connect.
In addition to flexible tickets and dedicated customer service, the offer promises a “dedicated first-class carriage” designed with “privacy” and “access to a quiet, dedicated space on board.”
The railway company said that not only are there “limited passenger numbers” in the cars, but also the types of passengers that can be on board: “To ensure maximum comfort in dedicated spaces, children are not allowed on board.”
On Friday, prices for a trip from Paris to Lyon were 132 euros ($155) for a traditional first class seat and 180 euros ($211) for Optimum Plus, which includes children free. Optimum Plus is a version of Optimum available only on the Paris-Lyon route and includes a dedicated host and meals.
But the proposal has drawn criticism from French officials and the public alike, who call the restrictions “discriminatory.”
“In the face of #NoKids pressure, SNCF must not bow down,” Sarah El-Khairy, France’s High Commissioner for Children at the Ministry of Health, Social and Labor, wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday, referring to the phenomenon (amplified by social media) of people seeking child-free spaces.
The railway company’s move “really amounts to direct discrimination against children. I think that’s why this issue is causing such controversy today,” Stéphanie Desclave, an entrepreneur and creator of the podcast “Les Adultes de Demain” (Tomorrow’s Adults), said on French radio show RTL Soir on Thursday, speaking about the so-called “No Kids” movement.
“While we understand that we need to be quiet in the TGV when we want to work, we also don’t think this should come at the expense of social groups, namely children. And I think this is an opportunity to rethink space for children and families as well,” Desclave added.
“SNCF has devised an ‘optimal’ class without children,” essayist Naima Mufadel wrote in an article published in Thursday’s X. “For a country concerned about its birth rate, the signs are dire.”
Last year, France recorded more deaths than births for the first time since World War II.
Mufadel encouraged people to read “an epic plea to be happy parents” while sharing an image of the book “Yes Kids” by Gabriel Kruzel, adding: “Children are life.”
A day earlier, state passenger rail operator SNCF Voyageurs published a video on social media defending the move in response to the “controversy”.
A spokesperson said in a video posted Wednesday that the Optimum class is “like our previous Business Premier service, open to anyone ages 12 and older.”
“These Optimum seats represent only 8% of the space available on our trains from Monday to Friday. This means 92% of the other seats are available to everyone, and 100% at weekends,” the spokesperson continued.
“I would even go so far as to say that we have been under pressure for many years to restrict children’s access to certain areas on trains, something we have always refused. Our service is designed for everyone, and of course for families,” she added.
In a statement to CNN on Friday, a spokesperson for SNCF Voyageurs said the company “never accepted numerous requests from customers” to “not allow children to board TGV INOUI trains on all sectors, including first class.”
The previous Business Premier service, which had invalid infant and child tickets, had been around for “many years” and had “no negative feedback”, the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson said TGV trains have childcare spaces and passengers can also book tickets in the family area of all TGV INOUI trains on weekends, school holidays and public holidays.
