This French Life

Changes to Ryanair check-in could see you have to pay £55/seat

RYANAIR has said that it will be reducing the time allowed for checking-in should you not book a reserved seat from four days down to just 48 hours.

If you do buy a seat reservation, which can cost anything from £4 upwards, you'll be able to check-in from 60 days before departure.

In a short statement the airline said: "Online check-in (for those customers who don’t choose reserved seats) will be available from 48 hours to 2 hours pre-departure for all flights from Wednesday, 13th June."

This means you will have to find a place to print off your boarding pass whilst on holiday should you not have the Ryanair app on your iPhone or Android mobile phone.

Fail to do this and you will have to check-in at the airport where a fee of £55-per-person will be charged and the change applies to ALL flights from 13 June - both new bookings and existing reservations.

Ryanair also said that the available time is double the 24 hour check-in period operated by Aer Lingus, British Airways, Lufthansa, Norwegian and Iberia, although these airlines don't charge a fee for check-in at the airport. (via Norm at LFN Digestive)

Roadworks set to cause delays on RN 21 to south of Bergerac

MAJOR roadworks on the RN 21 to the south of Bergerac over the next few weeks are set to cause traffic delays for drivers.

Works starts today (14 May) and will continue until Tuesday 22 May, then a break for a period of a week will see the roadworks restart on Wednesday 30 May continuing until Friday 1 June.

Resurfacing work is being undertake on the sections near the turn off to Bergerac airport and the junction to Issigeac, resulting in temporary traffic lights being installed and vehicles only being able to travel in one direction at a time.

SNCF to cut ticket prices to make peace with passengers

THE boss of French rail operator, SNCF, has announced a number of cut price ticket offers in an attempt to appeal to disgruntled passengers after weeks of strike action by train staff.

Guillaume Pepy has announced that three million tickets priced at less than 40 euros will go on sale from 15 May for travel up to the end of August.

He has also said that the price of many season tickets will be cut to 29 euros, for example reducing the price of the Senior+ card from 60 euros.

Strike action by SNCF staff over changes to work conditions and pension plans has seen many services reduced or cut on both work days and weekends, causing disturbance to the travel plans of many passengers.

Be aware of 'road map thefts' in supermarket car parks

A WARNING has been issued by the Gendarmerie nationale about so-called 'road map thefts' taking place in supermarket car parks.

Thieves are watching shoppers when paying their bills and memorising PIN numbers, then once the person begins to load up their car, they are being approached by a couple with one brandishing a large road map asking for directions.

Whilst one thief tries to distract the shopper, the other targets the person's handbag or wallet, hoping in the confusion to steal it and quickly use it at a cash machine having noted the PIN number earlier.

Gendarmes in the Loire-Atlantique stopped a man suspected of being involved in around 30 similar incidents, along with several accomplices, and are warning people to be on their guard.

No U-turn on new 80 km/h speed limit

THERE will be no turning back on the decision to reduce the speed limit from 90 km/h to 80 km/h on routes départementales in France.

Prime minister, Édouard Philippe, has faced down opposition including from local councillors, and said that the new speed limit will come into force from 1 July.

He went on to say that it is impossible to have a speed limit of 80 km/h and at the same time say it is fine to drive at 90 km/h, and Édouard Philippe said he was willing to shoulder the responsibility of the new rules.

Plans for direct Bordeaux to London rail link discussed

IT is still a few years off yet, but initial talks have taken place on offering a direct train service between Bordeaux and London.

A meeting hosted by Lisea, the operators of the high-speed rail between Tours and Bordeaux, with SNCF Reseau, Eurotunnel and High Speed 1 (the rail link between London and the Channel Tunnel) saw them discuss plans to operate a trial service sometime after 2020.

With a proposed journey time of five hours, the trains could offer seating for up to 900 passengers and fares to Bordeaux could be as low as £90 return.

France bans use of mobile phones by drivers unless vehicle is properly parked

DRIVERS in France have been warned that it is illegal to use mobile phones in their vehicles even if they have pulled over and turned their hazard lights on at the side of the road.

The Court of Appeal has ruled that drivers are still 'in circulation' even if they have pulled over, and the ruling comes after a driver was fined when he was parked, with his vehicle's hazard lights on, on the right side of a roundabout.

Drivers caught using their phone face a fine of up to €135 and will see three points added to their driving license, and applies to the use of mobile phones in the hand and not to cars fitted with hands-free sets.

Vehicle drivers are warned that they must be properly parked in a designated parking area before using their phones, although drivers of cars that have broken down that are on the side of the road due to not being able to drive further, are permitted to use their mobile phones to call for assistance.

New Bordeaux to Southend Airport service from easyJet

LOW cost airline, easyJet, has announced a major expansion of its French flights including a new link between Bordeaux and Southend Airport, in Essex.

The flight to Bordeaux will have three weekly frequencies once it launches on 25 July 2018, and easyJet has said it sees many opportunities for flights in France as well as further afield.

This is backed up with new services from Lyon to Corfu, Fuerteventura, Rennes and Tel Aviv while flights from Nice to Biarritz, Catane, Seville and Tel Aviv will also be offered.

Bordeaux airport will see summer connections to Bastia, Catane, Faro, Heraklion, Luxembourg, Tel Aviv and Southend, with 22 destinations available from Bordeaux-Mérignac during the busy holiday season.

New website address for SNCF online

SNCF is going through a slow, and some might say questionable, re-branding exercise with a new address now being promoted for its website.

The website can now be found at Oui.sncf rather than the long standing voyages-sncf.com, although the UK version is still accessed via the older version of the website address.

All this change is part of SNCF's move to rename its many services based around the word 'Oui'.

Earlier this year SNCF decided to drop the TGV name from its trains and replace it with inOui, and it joins the company's car sharing service, OuiCar, and the transport network OuiBus.

Speed limit may be cut to 80 km/h on many French roads

A REDUCTION in the speed limit from 90 km/h to 80 km/h on routes départementales in France could be introduced early next year.

Le Point reports that the speed limit reduction would apply to roads with no physical central barrier to split the traffic, meaning the vast majority of roads will be affected.

Whilst nothing has been confirmed by the government, it is hoped that the new 80 km/h limit would reduce accidents and cut down on pollution, but also promote more fluid traffic, reducing jams and tailbacks.

The motorist association 40 millions d'automobilistes has criticised the proposal saying no real evidence has been produced to show a reduction in the speed limit will reduce the accident rate.

The association say that all it will do is confuse drivers and mean more of them are caught by speed cameras, helping to boost public finances.

40 millions d'automobilistes has launched an online petition against the plan.