FRANCE: Eurostar Passengers Stuck In Paris

Hundreds of Eurostar passengers were stranded in Paris overnight after a holidaymaker tried to board a London-bound train with a souvenir war artillery shell.

The man had obtained the war relic - which is not allowed on Eurostar trains - from a site in Northern France and did not declare it to customs officials when he arrived at a checkpoint at Gare du Nord station yesterday.

The station was evacuated as a precaution after the shell was found in his bag, and Britons who were trying to get home after the Bank Holiday weekend faced hours-long delays or had to wait until this morning due to a knock-on effect and planned engineering work last night.

A Eurostar spokesman said ‘The delays yesterday were caused by some memorabilia which had been brought back from the war sites in Northern France.

This is relatively common, and there are lots of signs at check-in where we ask passengers not to do this.

On this occasion someone had done so without declaring it to customs, so there was an evacuation whilst this was checked.

The object was found when all bags were scanned, as part of the regular check-in procedure.

A passenger who was caught up in the delay tweeted that a traveller had tried to board a train with a 'fake bombshell'.

Passenger David MacLean said his train left more than two hours late and arrived at London’s St Pancras station three hours late.

He said: ‘We were among the lucky ones as I believe a lot of others were stranded in Paris overnight.’

MacLean said an employee on his train announced that the evacuation was due to a customer or customers trying to bring World War Two relics on board.

Eurostar passengers trying to leave France with decommissioned artillery shells or other war memorabilia have caused significant problems at Paris' Gare du Nord station, which serves more than half a million people a day.

There have been a number of incidents where relics from World War One and World War Two have been discovered in passengers' bags, resulting in partial or complete evacuations of the station and delays for travellers.

A live artillery shell was even taken to Gare du Nord by a British couple in July 2010.

Passengers are banned from bringing souvenir artillery shells and other military relics on board Eurostar trains.

The shells are regularly dug up in farmers' fields and can easily be purchased at flea markets or shops, or online, for around £50 or more.

The objects are listed under 'prohibited and restricted items' on Eurostar's website, but passengers either aren't aware of or ignore the rules.

In May 2015, after two shells were intercepted within 12 hours at Gare du Nord and Gare du Lille Europe stations, an official with SNCF, France's national railway, told the BBC that such incidents were happening 'fairly regularly'.

He said: 'It's always Brits. We have to teach them that it has to stop, the Eurostar has the same controls as Heathrow.'

Regarding the ban, Eurostar's website states: 'If you’ve been to visit one of the commemorative First World War sites, you’ve probably noticed that you can buy certain military relics from this era as souvenirs.

'Keep in mind, though, that certain items on offer are, for safety and security reasons, strictly prohibited from travelling on a Eurostar train.

'In accordance with Article 215 of the French Customs Code, you’ll be at risk of arrest, prosecution and a substantial fine if you attempt to travel with any historical weapons, munitions or explosive devices, either within your luggage or carried on you.

'Such restrictions are also applied to carrying military shells and cartridges (even if they appear to be empty).

'These items are a potential danger to yourself and all others in the vicinity where they’re carried. They have also been the cause of frequent station evacuations and significant travel delays when detected.

'We will also disregard any certification from sellers of such items claiming that they have been de-activated and are therefore harmless. The police will deal with each detected item in the same way.'

Angry travellers were forced to stand in long queues at Gare du Nord as they waited to find out when they would be able to board a train, and complained of a lack of information.

Eurostar cancelled the last two trains of the night and brought in a special service to bring stranded passengers back to London.

MacLean said organisation at Gare du Nord was poor and no one explained what was happening.

He added: ‘We just stood in a queue looking at the departure boards telling us the trains were delayed because of a suspicious package found earlier in the day. That was the total of the information.

‘After waiting a couple of hours in line a Eurostar employee walked down the line asking anyone with a ticket for the 20.07 train to follow him.

‘We followed and got upstairs to the Eurostar checking hall and passport control and security, and after more queuing got onto a train.

‘After further waiting time we departed. The journey after that was fine other than for a 20-minute stoppage not too far out of Paris to “allow traffic to free up”.’

MacLean said his train arrived in London shortly after 12:20am today.

He said: ‘As you can imagine with 900 passengers disembarking it was extremely busy.

‘Eurostar announced they had laid in some extra taxis but it would not cover everyone. They said if you get a taxi keep the receipt and apply for compensation in three days’ time.

‘I feel for those who were stranded as it was a horribly wet day and night in Paris and I am sure finding hotels would not have been easy.’

Jak May, 24, said he spent more than £200 to book himself, his partner and two friends into a hotel on the outskirts of Paris.

He said 'The communication has been appalling. We had to beg Eurostar officials to talk to us in English. It was like they were scared to give out any information at all.

'I personally think whoever is trying to bring the shell back is beyond disrespectful especially with how tense Paris is at the moment. As a group we saw the heightened police presence and were genuinely worried.'

The Eurostar spokesman said there was a knock-on effect as a result of the evacuation in the afternoon and maintenance work planned on the French high-speed line.

That meant the final two trains of the day were cancelled.

The spokesman said: ‘Staff were on hand to book hotels and taxis where necessary, and an extra train has been planned today to help people travel as soon as possible.’

Yesterday's incident capped a weekend of frustration for British holidaymakers, who also faced severe petrol shortages in France due to strikes at fuel depots and refineries.

Further problems are expected this week when rail workers go on strike on Wednesday and Thursday, resulting in severe cuts to national and regional services, in protest of labour reforms and pay.

Paris' metro and suburban services will be affected from Thursday when workers walk off the job.

Additional rail strikes are planned throughout June as France hosts millions of tourists from England, Northern Ireland and Wales and other countries for the Euro 2016 football tournament.

Airline passengers may be affected by labour action as well.

Air traffic controllers and other airport workers have been encouraged to walk off the job from Friday to Sunday, and Air France workers have voted to hold a week-long strike, likely in June, although dates have not been announced.

With the first match of Euro 2016 less than two weeks away and fears that the tournament could be a target for terrorists, France is under a heightened state of security.

A state of emergency has been in effect since last November's terror attacks at a number of sites in and around Paris.

FRANCE: How Terror Attacks Will Affect Paris

For the second time in a year, the capital of the world’s leading tourist nation has been the scene of coordinated mass murders. The latest atrocity in Paris has traumatised the city and its people, and has profound implications for travellers. As security on all forms of transport is stepped up, tens of thousands of tourists and business travellers have been leaving the city.

In the longer term, the combined effect of the two massacres in Paris this year could change the face of tourism in the capital and beyond.

Travel to and from France has not stopped. What the president meant was that full border controls would be established on the land frontiers with its neighbours, with passports or ID cards instituted for travel from Schengen countries by road and rail. These checks were actually being temporarily introduced for a month, as part of the security precautions head of the UN Climate Change Conference starting on 30 November. They may now be extended.

Some Metro stations near the massacre locations are closed, and RER (suburban train) and many bus services are disrupted. Security has been stepped up at transport terminals, notably the city’s airports and main train stations, and on trains; in August there was an attempted terrorist attack on an Amsterdam-Paris high-speed train.

Eurostar services through the Channel between Paris Gare du Nord and London St Pancras are operating normally, but passengers are advised to check in an hour before departure, instead of the usual 30 minutes. Random searches of other rail passengers may be instituted.

Eurostar train services and most flights are operating more or less normally, and operators are offering flexibility to passengers keen to leave - switching them to immediate departures when seats are available.

For those booked to travel to Paris this weekend, and in some cases on Monday and Tuesday, operators are allowing passengers to postpone journeys or switch to alternative destinations without penalty.

Air France says flights will operate as normally as possible, but warns: “Departure and arrival delays are to be expected following the reinforcement of controls at the borders by the authorities.” Passengers booked to travel this weekend on Air France are allowed free postponements to 22 November; if you wish to postpone your trip beyond that date, or change your destination, you can get a voucher valid for one year on Air France or KLM. easyJet says: “Our schedule will operate normally.” However, passengers are advised to “allow extra time for security checking due to security measure reinforcement”. Passengers booked to travel on Saturday or Sunday can call easyJet customer service on 0330 365 5000 to rebook flights for alternative dates or cancel for a full refund.

Vueling, the third-largest airline in Paris, has deployed extra staff and is offering flexibility to change flights for next three days.

British Airways says anyone booked to travel to Paris up to 17 November will be able to delay their flight to another day in the next two weeks (up to 28 November), or re-book to an alternative destination.

Flybe says: “Any customer who is travelling today or tomorrow (i.e.14/15 November 2015) and who doesn't wish to now do so may rebook a later date to any alternative destination or obtain a credit note for future travel by the calling Flybe Customer Contact Centre on 0371 700 2000 (from outside the UK +44 1392 683 152).”

Services are running normally. Eurotunnel says: “Currently, border controls have been strengthened.” It is a similar picture at the ports. Increased security and tighter border controls could cause some delays.

The Foreign Office has set up an emergency number, 020 7008 1500, though clearly at this stage information is confused and patchy.

On Saturday many public venues were closed, and for the next few days the capital will be in mourning, along with the rest of France. Many tourists may feel they could be trespassing on the grief of the city in mourning.

Following the atrocities committed in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005, visitors were swiftly back, and welcomed for their show of solidarity in the face of terrorism. Certainly anyone planning a December break in the city should plan to carry on as normal - though they should be prepared to find a heavy security presence in the city.

Paris will remain one of the most-visited cities in the world. However, the nature of big, open cities means that future attacks cannot be ruled out. Security at national monuments and tourist sites throughout France was already tight following the Charlie Hebdo massacre and will be stepped up still further. The existing rules on identity checks are likely to be more tightly enforced. Visitors may be asked to prove their identity when asked or within four hours at a police station.

In the longer term, France and other Schengen countries are likely to reintroduce permanent passport and ID checks in a bid to have more control over their borders.

The cause of the loss of 224 lives in that tragedy is still not certain, but it could have been an act of terrorism; in the wake of the crash, British airlines are not allowed to fly passengers to Sharm el Sheikh. Yet despite these appalling, high-profile events the risk profile for most travellers is unaffected; a large majority of the British travellers who sadly lose their lives abroad are killed on the roads or are victims of accidents in water