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France's major seaports face successive industrial stoppages on November 5–6, 2026, as a nationwide CGT dockworkers' strike is followed by a separate walkout involving port tugboat crews and maritime officers. HAROPA's Le Havre harbourmaster has confirmed disruption to container terminals, locks and movable port infrastructure from 6 a.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday, followed by restrictions to marine operations from 8 a.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday, local time. The Port of Calais has separately warned of significant disruption between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday, potentially affecting Dover–Calais freight and passenger services. Strike calls extend to other French ports, including Marseille-Fos, Dunkirk, Rouen and Bordeaux, although the actual reduction in cargo handling and vessel movements will vary by terminal and workforce participation.
Dockworkers Stop Cargo.
Then Tug Crews Restrict Ships.
Two consecutive bottlenecks, nearly 50 hours
From Thursday November 5 at 06:00 through Saturday November 7 at 08:00, with a two-hour interval between the notices.
06:00FRI 6
06:00FRI 6
08:00SAT 7
08:00
24 HOURS
24 HOURS
Le Havre harbourmaster warns container terminals and movable port infrastructure will be disrupted from 06:00 Thursday to 06:00 Friday.
Le Havre's multimodal terminal separately announces closure for the entire Thursday, affecting intermodal container transfer operations.
Harbourmaster warns marine operations will be strongly slowed from 08:00 Friday until 08:00 Saturday.
Four-hour warning
11:00–15:00Thursday November 5. The port expects significant disruption and directs travelers and hauliers to individual ferry operators for sailing information.
Full-day closure announced
NOVEMBER 5The multimodal terminal's own notice confirms closure throughout Thursday. The terminal supports rail, road and barge connections.
Same National Strike.
Different Port-Level Consequences.
Two separate labor disputes, two operating bottlenecks
Pay, employment and public budgets
The November 5 port action forms part of wider French union mobilization over wages, purchasing power, social protection, employment and public-service funding. Dockworker withdrawal can interrupt cargo operations even when navigational services are available.
French-flag requirements for harbour towing
Separate CGT maritime unions are protesting concerns about protection of French-flag port-towage operations amid European Commission scrutiny. France's transport ministry has said it will defend its position. Loss of towage capacity can constrain vessel arrivals and departures even if cargo cranes are staffed.
Official annual system total. Not the number of boxes handled solely at Le Havre on the strike date.
Historical annual ferry freight throughput, not a count of vehicles delayed.
Historical annual passenger movements across the port's ferry operation.
How Much Cargo Is Deferred?
How Long to Catch Up?
Le Havre container-disruption scenario
Starts with 2025 HAROPA Seine-axis throughput of 3.2 million TEUs, not a measured daily Le Havre terminal total. Market-share factor is an assumption.
Modeled activity affected across two sequential disruption windows, based on historical throughput and selected reduction factors.
Additional recovery time using the chosen productivity uplift.
Unit holding costs plus selected vessel delay costs.
Historical flow after adjusting the market share.
Additional activity above the assumed normal daily rate.
Flow lost and capacity to recover
Daily average throughput compared with equivalent deferred volume and extra daily catch-up capacity. The bars use a common scale.
Potential direct cost exposure
Calculation method and assumptions
Adjusted normal daily traffic = official 2025 annual throughput ÷ 365 × selected activity share.
Deferred equivalent units = daily flow × [(first window hours ÷ 24 × first reduction) + (second window hours ÷ 24 × second reduction)]. The model assumes two non-overlapping periods. Any normal handling continuing during a strike is reflected in the selected reduction percentages.
Catch-up days = deferred units ÷ (daily normal flow × extra recovery capacity %). This assumes steady incoming cargo, separately available extra throughput and no further disruption.
Holding exposure = deferred units × additional unit holding days × cost per unit per day. Vessel exposure = affected vessels × additional delay hours ÷ 24 × daily vessel delay cost. These components are added as illustrative separate cost categories, not established financial losses or automatically payable claims.
Data limitation: The Le Havre option uses HAROPA's 2025 Seine-axis total of 3.2 million TEUs, not a verified Le Havre-only daily volume. The Calais option uses the port's 2025 annual heavy-goods-vehicle count of 1,714,187 and excludes passenger traffic. For Calais, the initial four-hour warning is verified; any additional second-window marine delay is optional and hypothetical, not an established Calais Friday closure. All operating percentages, cost rates and vessel counts are assumptions. Actual port downtime, cargo backlog, ferry cancellation totals and cost recovery have not been verified.
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