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In France, we are moving towards the abolition of internal flights if the cities can be reached in two and a half hours by train

In France, we are moving towards the abolition of internal flights if the cities can be reached in two and a half hours by train

by Carla Andrea Fundarotto

Stop to domestic flights if the cities can be reached comfortably in two and a half hours by train. 

The provision approved a few days by the French chamber and for which the Senate is now awaiting the yes, is part of the objective with which President Macron aims to reduce emissions by 40% by 2030, bringing them back to 1990 levels.

The routes that should be canceled

According to this rule, air routes from Paris Orly to Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes, Rennes and from Lyon to Marseille would be abolished. The bill was drafted on the basis of a series of proposals formulated by a committee of 150 citizens chosen by lot by the government to discuss initiatives against climate change.
Among the proposals was to eliminate internal flights in the case of alternatives via train of less than 4 hours, but in the end the law reduced this limit to 2 and a half hours, following the opposition of some regions that would have been penalized and the company Air France-KLM, which like other airlines has been severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The law and Air France

The French law comes a few days after the green light of the European Commission for the plan that would grant up to 4 billion euros for the recapitalization of Air France, in which the French state holds a stake of 14.3%, with a fleet of over 300 planes.
The measure effectively signs a negotiation between Air France and the government, which had conditioned its 7 billion in financial aid in May 2020 to the abolition of these internal flights.
The measure passed to the House will now have to get the go-ahead in the Senate, which will be followed by a new yes from the Assembly to become in effect definitive.

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