Bus services across the western suburbs of Paris were severely disrupted on Thursday after drivers from the Keolis Argenteuil Boucles de Seine network went on strike to protest a violent assault on one of their colleagues in Le Vésinet.
The 49-year-old driver was attacked late Wednesday afternoon by two passengers and left bleeding inside his vehicle before being taken to the hospital, according to Le Parisien.
The incident occurred around 5 p.m. between the Vésinet–Le Pecq and Houilles–Carrières RER A stations. According to investigators, the confrontation began when the driver refused to make an unscheduled stop. The two passengers then attacked him before fleeing on foot through a nearby park. They were later arrested by police and taken into custody. Both suspects, aged 19 and 20, are residents of Val-d’Oise and were previously unknown to the authorities.
Further descriptions were not made public by the police.
Emergency services treated the driver, who sustained two deep head wounds. Keolis confirmed that he was released from the hospital the same evening and has since returned home. Following the assault, the driver exercised his legal right to withdraw from service — a decision quickly joined by other colleagues in solidarity.
On Thursday morning, multiple lines across the network were operating in “severely degraded mode” with some services completely suspended.
Keolis has filed a complaint and condemned the assault, reaffirming its “zero-tolerance policy for any aggression.” The company stated that “the safety of all passengers and staff, everywhere and at all times, is an absolute priority.” A reinforced security presence was deployed Wednesday night, and, from Oct. 13, transport police officers will patrol service routes throughout the night.
The incident comes amid rising concern over violence on public transport in France. Recent INSEE data indicate that foreigners committed 64 percent of violent robberies and assaults on Paris public transport in 2024, with North Africans accounting for 43 percent despite representing just 3.4 percent of the population. Nationwide, foreigners were implicated in 41 percent of such crimes.
Sexual violence has also sharply increased. According to the Ministry’s Statistical Service for Internal Security (SSMSI), 3,374 people were victims of sexual violence on public transport in 2024 — an 86 percent rise since 2016. Forty-four percent of these cases occurred in Île-de-France, and seven in ten women in the region report having experienced sexual harassment or assault.
Similar problems are being reported elsewhere in Europe. In Berlin, police recorded over 20,000 crimes on public transport between January and September 2024, a 36 percent increase on the previous year.
In Belgium, a 76-year-old man was killed in June in a knife attack aboard a De Lijn bus in Antwerp, leading to strikes by drivers demanding stronger protection.
