France is ready to help Eurostar, is negotiating with Britain

The company was hit hard by travel restrictions.

The French government is ready to help Eurostar, which operates trains between Britain and continental Europe through the Channel Tunnel. The company has been hit hard by travel restrictions imposed by governments to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. As Jean-Pierre Farandou, head of the French railway company SNCF, which is the majority shareholder of Eurostar, said, the situation in this company is "critical". Earlier this week, he called on the government to provide the companies with the same support they received to overcome the airline's corona crisis. SNCF controls 55% of Eurostar, other shareholders are the Belgian railway company and private investors from the British side. The French government has responded, and as Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said in parliament, the government is ready to help the company. At the same time, he is negotiating the problem with the British side, he added. As a result of the restrictions imposed after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of Eurostar passengers has fallen sharply and the company fears that it will default by the end of the first quarter. Eurostar boss Jacques Damas warned that "in the event of a further worsening of the crisis, this could happen sooner".