TGV child-free carriage sparks backlash over new Optimum class

France’s TGV child-free carriage policy has prompted backlash after SNCF launched its new TGV INOUI Optimum class, creating a dedicated first-class space where children are not permitted, as reported by CNN.

As of January 8, SNCF has been selling “Optimum” class on many TGV INOUI routes to and from Paris, according to the SNCF Connect website. The package pairs flexible tickets with a dedicated customer service line and access to a reserved first-class carriage presented as a quieter, more private area onboard.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

SNCF says the carriage is limited in passenger numbers and also restricts who can travel there. In its description of the offer, the company states that “to ensure maximum comfort in the dedicated space, children are not permitted.” The restriction has been criticized by some officials and members of the public as discrimination against children.

TGV INOUI Optimum Plus on the Paris–Lyon route

The policy is most visible through Optimum Plus Paris–Lyon, a version of Optimum offered only on that route. On Friday, a seat from Paris to Lyon was listed at €132 ($155) in traditional first class, compared with €180 ($211) for the child-free Optimum Plus, which includes a personal host and dining.

Don’t miss…TTC and GO Transit service disruptions: what changes this weekend

Critics have linked the decision to the France “No Kids” movement, a trend amplified by social media and tied to calls for child-free spaces. Sarah El Haïry, High Commissioner for Children at France’s Ministry for Health, Social Affairs and Labor, urged SNCF not to give in to what she called “#NoKids pressure” in an Instagram post on Thursday.

Stéphanie d’Esclaibes, an entrepreneur and the creator of the podcast “Les Adultes de Demain” (The Adults of Tomorrow), said on RTL Soir that the policy amounts to direct discrimination against children. She acknowledged that some passengers want quiet on the TGV to work, but argued it should not come at the expense of excluding a social group, and suggested the debate could be a chance to rethink spaces for children and families.

Essayist Naïma M’Faddel also criticized the move on X, writing on Thursday that SNCF was introducing an “Optimum” class “without children” and calling the signal “disastrous” in a country worried about its birth rate. She noted that France recorded more deaths than births last year for the first time since the end of World War II and recommended the book “Yes Kids” by Gabrielle Cluzel, praising its message about “assumed and happy parenthood,” adding: “The child is life.”

SNCF response and the Business Première precedent

SNCF Voyageurs, the national passenger rail operator, defended the decision in a video posted Wednesday, describing the situation as a controversy. A spokesperson said the Optimum class is open to everyone aged 12 and over, as was already the case for the previous Business Première service.

The spokesperson said Optimum seats represent 8% of the available space on SNCF trains from Monday to Friday. That, she added, means 92% of other seats are available to everyone during the week and 100% on weekends. She also said SNCF had been under pressure for years to restrict children’s access to certain areas of its trains but had always refused, emphasizing that services are designed for everyone, including families.

In a statement to CNN on Friday, an SNCF Voyageurs spokesperson said the company “never accepted the numerous requests from customers” to make entire sections — such as first class — child-free on TGV INOUI trains. The spokesperson added that Business Première, for which toddler and child tickets were not valid, existed “for many years” without negative feedback.

SNCF Voyageurs said TGV trains have nursery areas, and passengers can also reserve tickets in the dedicated family area on all TGV INOUI trains on weekends, in school holidays, and on public holidays, as outlined by SNCF Voyageurs.

News on railway transport, industry, and railway technologies from Railway Supply that you might have missed: