France's national railway company has backtracked on plans to cancel a popular service that allows children to travel unaccompanied by a parent or carer over Christmas.A Christmas truce from some striking drivers allowed the company to run special trains for the childrenAmid pension protests, Emmanuel Macron's office announced the French President would forgo his pension entitlements
National rail operator SNCF previously said it was cancelling the service, used by children aged between four and 14 are accompanied by a monitor, because of"It was unfair for the children," said Parisian mother Marie-Laure Belle, whose 11-year-old daughter was set to travel on Sunday.But following a Christmas truce from some striking drivers, the company said it would run special trains for the children booked to travel on the service.
The first children's trains for the holidays, dubbed"Junior and Co", departed from Gare de Lyon station in Paris early on Sunday and transported 140 children. In total, about 1,000 children were able to travel on Sunday via seven Paris-Marseille roundtrips, according to SNCF. For 11-year-old Lucas da Silva, who was slated to spend the holidays with his father in the southern French city of Marseille, the decision to operate the children's trains was a Christmas miracle."I miss him sometimes. I really want to see him."