France resists pressure to increase Eurostar services amid travel chaos: Report
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France is preventing Eurostar from increasing the number of trains running daily between London and Paris, the Telegraph reported on Sunday.
French border police and security staff are resisting the train operator’s efforts to add more services due to concerns about staff shortages, the newspaper said.
The standoff comes after France was blamed for fuelling travel chaos at the port of Dover this weekend by understaffing the border. French Transport Minister Clement Beaune tweeted his country was “not responsible” for Brexit — which means holidaymakers now face more thorough passport checks at the border.
An increase in Eurostar services to 17 trains a day could help ease pressure at Dover and at airports by allowing thousands more people to travel by train this summer.
But French border officials insist they can only handle 13 services a day, the Telegraph reported. An extra four services would also help the train company honor the lease agreements for its rolling stock, the newspaper said.