We believe that the European Union must be the world leader in clean transport. We have a strong interest in fighting global warming and the degradation of our environment. Europe is the smallest continent but also the most temperate. It is therefore in our best interest to protect it. Thus, we are very sensitive to the use of trains, a real alternative to polluting transport. The abolition of air “flea jumps”, as requested by the Dutch Parliament for the Brussels-Amsterdam routes, would be a possibility to be explored within the European Union.
Another issue that is particularly close to our hearts is a greater rail connection between major European cities in order to create a sustainable alternative to road transport.
Europe can play a key role in these major projects as it has done, for example, with the Lyon-Turin tunnel. Thanks to this tunnel between France and Italy, 150 billion euros of trade between the two countries will be possible without the use of road transport.
Beyond the environmental issue of train use, rail links are a crucial element of France’s territorial network. However, the elimination of night trains considerably weakens it and accentuates territorial divisions.
We are the first to denounce these growing territorial divisions and they are at the root of our daily struggles. Parisian centralism prevents local initiatives from flourishing. Our territories are suffocating under the weight of centralizing and unifying Jacobinism. Especially in rural France and poor urban suburbs, millions of French people feel left out by the territorial divide.
The increasing abolition of night trains since 2009 is, unfortunately, a sadly significant example. Peripheral areas suffer from a rather worrying lack of service, which severely penalizes the inhabitants of rural areas.
Our National Secretary of Transport, Edith Gallois, is at your disposal to discuss these topics with you.
The campaign team remains at your disposal.