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Old Posted Jun 22, 2017, 9:52 AM
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mousquet mousquet is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Greater Paris, France
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^ Fees increased since Sarkozy's right-wing administration sold the national highway network to the private sector. That was some 10 years ago, I believe. I think it's widely operated by Vinci Concessions now.
I'm not aware of the details of the deal the national government made with private operators, just hoping it's been a relief to taxpayers. It surely pissed the left-wing people who found it shocking.
That being said, the network is neatly maintained. It feels like driving a carpet, comfy.

SNCF is upgrading their price lists to be more aggressive to their rivals, namely those highways and airways, so there are better deals by train now.
As far as I'm concerned, I'm more in favor of using taxpayer money to support railways instead of alternative infrastructures, assuming it's still a more relevant strategy, even when it's costly. Railways can be time, space and energy-efficient, all at the same time. It's actually some fine technology.

Otherwise, if you need a car and have time, you still can drive smaller and slower roads managed by local administrations. These are free and allow you to check on small villages and tiny towns scattered across the countryside.
It's often somewhat desolated these days, depending on regions; some are better off than others. Say much of rural France is struggling at the moment, but it's always a most interesting experience to cross it, like taking time to drive throughout the US.
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