Overview
- SNCF’s new Optimum and Optimum Plus offers bar children under 12 from designated weekday areas on some TGVs, a rule the company says mirrors its longstanding Business Première policy.
- CEO Jean Castex said he was "sidéré" by the outcry, insisting children are welcome and citing 8.4 million child trips in 2025 with families up an estimated 10–15% compared with five years earlier.
- After criticism of a "maladroit" marketing phrase stating children were not accepted, SNCF changed its webpage and emphasized that the restriction applies only to limited seats on weekdays and not on weekends.
- Deputy Constance de Pélichy has filed a bill to prohibit no‑kids zones in trains and public services, though it remains unclear whether the proposal will gain sufficient support in the National Assembly.
- On-the-ground reporting found some business travelers back the quiet work areas, while commentators frame the dispute as a broader question of civility rather than a societal shift against children.