Paris Taxi Strike

If the strike is ongoing when you arrive, your next best option, in my opinion, is to take the RER and metro combination to your accommodations. How much luggage do you have?

Without knowing where your hotel is located

RER B to Saint Michel Notre Dame, transfer to RER C to Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel

Or

RER B to Denfert-Rochereau, transfer to Metro 6 to Bir-Hakeim

We were worried about this since there were CDG blockades a couple days a week or so ago --We are old and cannot manage our luggage on metro stairs so I scoped out plan b and c for our trip today. B. was that if there was a blockade I would have our G7 deliver us to the Denfert Rochereou RER station which has elevator access from street to RER B platform. If things were really bad i.e. no cabs, then plan C was we would walk the km or so to the metro station at Maison Blanche and get the 14 to Chatelet and transfer to the B there. 14 is fully accessible and has elevator access from street to platform.

As usual, the G7 showed up about 5 minutes early and the trip to the airport this morning took about 40 minutes (we are in the 13th just below the Butte aux Cailles -- so one of the longer CDG cab trips.

Coming in from the airport is less worrisome -- so it takes a little longer. But missing a plane would be a real bummer.

There doesn't seem to be an airport issue at the moment. If there is when you come in, take the RER B and map out your plan ahead of time to minimize metros as you can't avoid stairs on the metro. I literally saw no evidence of the strike at all this morning and the dispatcher had assured me that there wasn't a current problem. We did see a hundred or so cabs blocking near Rue du Bac the other day while cabbies BBQed on the roadside.

It is unlikely that your arrival will be affected at all by any perceived lack of taxis or strike action. Most of the taxi noise is from drivers from other parts of the country who have come to Paris to show their displeasure by blocking streets and honking their horns. I shouldn't worry at all. However, as a backup, you can take the RER B from CDG and connect through any other RER/métro station to reach your destination. Cost is 13€.

Thank you for the detailed replies. They were most helpful. I only have one piece of carryon luggage and a backpack, but I really can’t handle metro stairs with those.

I was encouraged to hear that the strike may not be targeting the airport.

We didn’t have any trouble getting a taxi at the airport last Monday afternoon from Terminal 1 and there are plenty of them driving around this morning in the 8th around St. Lazare station.

I am in Paris now and have taken a taxi from the train station on the 29th to my hotel in the Marais, a taxi on the 31 from the 1 arrondissement to 4th at 1:00 a.m. and today for 4th to the meeting point for Versailles tours. I use G7 app to reserve and it works well. That said, I do keep monitoring for further strikes.

I am a little hysterical about strike planning because we got caught up in a train strike a couple of years ago trying to get from Amsterdam to Berlin and it burned up most of a day of my time trying to get a strategy to get to Berlin and make our apartment reservation. Thus I had careful plans to get to the airport if the strike did block the airport.

but in Paris, while I have seen loud street actions by cabbies in May, it had no impact at all on our airport trip -- either yesterday on our way home or earlier when we did a side trip by air.

If you end up taking RER B train from CDG into Paris, check with your hotel which station to get off and which exit to take such as elevator/stairs/walking distance to the hotel, etc.

There is a youtube video that lists 10 metro stations to avoid and they provide the alternative stations. It's good to know, at least for me.

I looked at that video about stations to avoid and it is mostly nonsense. Pick the nearest metro. PIckpockets operate on public transport -- you don't get hit by not having valuable in pockets or backpacks. We avoid Chatelet because it is a pain to transfer there - often very very long walks and St. Lazare is similarly a pain but most of the warnings about other stations were just silly.

Before you leave for Paris, add the Citymapper app to your phone for real time transit info.

When taking the metro/RER it will tell you which section of cars to board, alert you when your stop is coming up, exactly which exit to use at the station and more.

There are also other options including step-free.

Also has bus and walking directions.

Agree with Janet, that's a nonsense video. I want to clear up a couple of things: too bad it goes on and on about pickpockets, scaring people not used to cities. I've been using these stations for fifty years and have never been pick-pocketed. My husband, 70 years, and never pick-pocketed. Do keep your stuff safe the way Rick Steves and the posters here advise.

Yes, a couple of those transfers are loooong corridors to be avoid. CityMapper app will help. What he didn't say is that three metro lines at Châtelet are next to each other and require no corridor at all. Two RER lines are on the same platform. And all RER lines are deep under the metro lines, nothing unusual. Avoiding these stations point blank could be making it more difficult for yourself. Again: trust CityMapper to tell you if you have a long corridor or not.

Be discreet; you don't need a Brittany t-shirt, red beret and red scarf that screams you're a tourist.

LOL. You can't walk two steps in Paris without walking into an 'influencer' poncing about in costume while a friend and enabler videos them. We were at a concert at the Garnier this spring and one woman in blond wig and red satin kimona repeatedly descended the main staircase amidst the chaos as someone photographed her. We have encountered them in the Musee d'Orsay, the Pompidou, the Louvre and on many a street corner. Everyone wants to be Emily in Paris -- even middle aged tourists.

Yes, a cute red beret on a six year old is adorable, on a middle aged something, not so much.