The president of the French National Railway Company (SNCF), Jean-Pierre Farandou, will not be reappointed for a second term at the head of the railway group, the government announced on Tuesday May 7 in a press release. His mandate, which officially ends on May 13, will be extended for a few weeks this summer “in order to guarantee the successful organization of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” the press release said.
After the competition, “the President of the National Assembly and the President of the Senate will be informed by the President of the Republic of the name of the envisaged successor of Mr. Jean-Pierre Farandou”, who has chaired the group since 2019, specifies in the press release .
Jean-Pierre Farandou had until now always made known his intention to continue for a second term as president of the SNCF. He should then have left office in July 2025, because he reached the age limit (68 years).
The end-of-career agreement criticized
Recently, Mr. Farandou came under fire from the right and part of the government for an agreement on the end of the careers of railway workers signed by management with all of the group’s unions.
It provides for an additional seniority level for salaries given the lengthening of careers and possible retraining for positions corresponding to the arduousness criteria. It also provides for the possibility for certain professions such as drivers or controllers to retire early with advantageous financial measures.
The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire announced on Thursday the summons of Jean-Pierre Farandou to Bercy to explain this agreement. Mr. Farandou is due to be heard in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon on this issue.
Historic results and record attendances
Jean-Pierre Farrandou was appointed in November 2019 with the primary mission of restoring the SNCF accounts and implementing the 2018 railway reform. Under his mandate, the status of railway workers disappeared in January 2020 – a consequence of the reform – and his company was faced with two major strike movements against the pension reform, in 2019-2020 then in 2023.
Mr. Farandou also had to face the Covid-19 crisis and the total shutdown of TGVs then the organization of health trains to transport the sick and unload hospitals in certain particularly affected regions.
He is also the one who brought the SNCF accounts back into the green with historic results in 2022 and 2.4 billion euros in profit then 1.3 billion euros in 2023. The SNCF is facing record attendance on trains, but also a shortage of trains.