Around a hundred French and German demonstrators marched from the Marktplatz in Kehl, across the Europe Bridge into Strasbourg on Saturday 3 October to protest at the continuation of German controls on the Franco-German land border. Organised by the Young Europeans of Strasbourg and their Baden-Württemberg counterparts under the banner “Don’t touch my Schengen!”, the rally coincided with German Unity Day and highlighted what participants called the re-emergence of “physical and psychological frontiers” along the Rhine. The controls, re-introduced by Berlin in September 2024 and recently prolonged until at least March 2027, were due to lapse on 15 September but have been extended in response to concerns over irregular migration. Motorists and tram users crossing between Strasbourg and Kehl report daily tailbacks that add 20-40 minutes each way to commutes, undermining the cross-border labour market on which some 50 000 Alsace-Baden workers depend. Local businesses warn that delivery schedules and just-in-time supply chains are also being hit. The Eurométropole of Strasbourg has called for proportional checks and the urgent deployment of more customs officers to speed up flows, while French and German chambers of commerce fear the deterrent effect on investment in the Upper Rhine region. For global mobility managers the episode is a reminder that Schengen internal borders can become chokepoints overnight. Companies with staff living on one side of the Rhine and working on the other should revisit commuting allowances, stagger shift times where possible and brief employees on alternative crossings such as the Pförtner Bridge or the Pont Pflimlin, which currently experience slightly shorter queues. Longer-term assignments may need temporary accommodation budgets so assignees can stay closer to worksites until controls are lifted.
Source: Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace
