John J Thompson Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Future of SeaFrance thrown into doubt by EU ruling on rescue deal. FUTURE viability of SeaFrance ferry services between the Port of Dover and Calais has been questioned by the European Commission after it rejected the troubled company's financial rescue package. A probe into the ongoing restructuring of the French firm was launched by EU authorities earlier this year and the investigation has now ruled that the deal, which sees funds provided by state-owned parent company SNCF, breaches European rules on state aid. The Commission expressed concerns over market confidence in the viability of the operation and the firm's reliance on financial support from the state-run railway operator. Workers at SeaFrance are currently on strike - forcing the cancellation of all sailings between Dover and Calais today - as the French commercial court in Paris prepares to decide the future of the business at a meeting in the capital at 2.30pm local time today. Five coaches departed from Calais this morning taking staff to Paris to be present at the court hearing, where the company will either be liquidated or a takeover bid will be approved. One port insider expressed incredulity at the fact that on the very day the future of the company is to be decided all sailings are cancelled. He said: "The sad fact is that these days their carryings are so low that when they strike, the tunnel and other ferry companies can absorb the traffic in the blink of an eye. "What is incredible is that on the very day the French court sits to consider whether there's a future for the company, guess what - SeaFrance is on strike again." From todays "This is Kent" website We should know more later on the Courts ruling possibly Liquidation? or a takeover? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Still no further forward tonight. This french news site http://www.lesechos.fr/entreprises-secteurs/auto-transport/actu/0201713148440-seafrance-le-tribunal-de-commerce-reporte-sa-decision-239261.php suggests it could still go to liquidation, but DFDS and an employee co-operative both want to take it over. Why does that last option fill me with terror??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowtelse2do Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 A monopoly comes to mind Tony *-) BIG BIG price increases. Hope it doesn't get back to the mid nineties prices £335 for car and two of us 8-) Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 They have been under investigation since 2008, long may it continue just as long as they keep running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Meanderer Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Yes - hope they keep going. Last week we enjoyed a Dover - Calais return (7.4m MH + 2 adults) for £45 through the Camping and Caravanning Club - brilliant and much cheaper gazole at Auchan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John J Thompson Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 SeaFrance: the Commercial Court postpones decision The court considered the bids Tuesday for the resumption of cross-Channel ferry company in receivership. Its fate will not be known until November 16. Written by Elsa Dicharry Web Editor The fate of SeaFrance will not be known until November 16. Takeover or liquidation? The Commercial Court of Paris, on Tuesday examined the case of cross-Channel ferry company in receivership, has decided to postpone its decision. The management of SeaFrance, which employs over 800 employees, was the first to be heard. Then each in turn, potential buyers presented their projects at a hearing in camera, to which many journalists were unable to attend. Representatives of the Danish DFDS industrial and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, who submitted a joint bid, have declined to comment after their hearing. For his part, Didier Cappelle, general secretary of the union CFDT North Sea and the bearer of a draft Scop (cooperative and participatory whose majority shareholders are the employees), was outraged: "We understand that the station had is a massive opportunity to DFDS [ which will further cut hundreds of jobs.] " Possible appeal in Brussels Some 250 employees of SeaFrance had made the trip from Calais to show their anger and defend their positions. "The management of work, the sailors at work!" They chanted. In the afternoon, some of them climbed the parapet of the Pont au Change and the market in balance over the Seine to bypass the dam CRS faced them and join the court, located dock Corsica on the Ile de la Cité. Monday, the European Commission had rejected the restructuring plan SeaFrance , considering it "incompatible with European rules regarding state aid control." In Focus Brussels included the loan of 100 million euros made ??by SNCF, the parent company, considered as state aid unjustified. The Minister of Economy Baroin said Tuesday that France would consider "remedies" to "appeal" the decision of the Commission. E. DI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairweather camper Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Just booked with SeaFrance, for next June, will I get my money back if they go under ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 'Fraid not Valerie - unless the business is taken over as a going concern (ie by DFDS or the proposed "workers' co-operative"). If it actually goes to the wall, none of us will get our money back - and we've booked for next year too! Worst of all, in a fit of unthinking holiday-mania, we celebrated the fact that we actually had a few quid in the bank for once, by paying with a debit card instead of our usual credit card, so we won't get any joy from our card people either! I hope you were a bit wiser and used a credit card. Not sure which is worse - losing the £82 or the prospect of relying on a "co-operative" (!) of Seafrance "workers!" (Q: How many people work at Seafrance? A: About a quarter of them!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 As far as I can tell the is no great advantage in booking so far ahead so we only ever book a few days before we leave - or as things stand now - we would book the day before sailing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Really do agree with Rich, why book so early, we never do, just buy six single tickets on a carnet usually about a week before our first trip. As for them going out of business I doubt it, as I said on earlier post this has been going on since 2008 to my knowledge. The French will probably find a way around any euro rules or simply ignore them anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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