Could ‘luxury’ French lorry parks end this crisis?
While British HGV drivers can’t shower, across the Channel it’s a different story. By Rebecca Rosman
Forget higher pay or visas for foreign workers. Could the solution to the UK’S lorry driver shortage simply be a hot shower, and a cold beer over a decent meal? Last week, the HGV driver shortage was responsible for everything from ongoing fuel supply issues to the prospect of a new winter of discontent – with supermarkets going without turkey and toys this Christmas. With Boris Johnson’s suggested three-month working visa for EU truckers given the hard shoulder, one haulage firm announced it was to pay drivers a weekly salary higher than that of MPS.
But what if working conditions for those driving on British roads were more like those on the Continent?
“We’ve lost those truck stops; the caffs, so drivers aren’t able to get a proper wash,” Paul Carter of Certa Logistics, a cold chain transport and logistics supplier, told BBC’S Today last week. “So you’ll see lorry drivers parked in lay-bys at the side of the road. Some of our drivers have to park in industrial estates to take their overnight rest. The parking facilities you’ll get at services get blocked up very quickly. If you’re finishing at 8pm, you have no chance of getting a space in a secure service or lorry park, and you’ll end up on the side of the road, with no facilities.
“If you’re expecting someone to sleep in their cab and not wash, it won’t matter how much money you throw at them to attract them to the industry. You won’t.”
Industry experts have said the lack of “luxury” lorry parks in Britain is the single major obstacle to attracting new truckers. It may be time to take a leaf out of France’s book – or, rather, cookbook.
For more than 80 years, lorry drivers across France have had access to Relais Routiers, a network of more than 1,200 restaurants serving up affordable three-course meals (wine often included), decent shower facilities and bountiful parking for the massive trucks.
For many drivers, these stop-offs are also a welcome escape from the daily solitude of life on the road.
“Drivers spend their entire day alone on the motorway, but when they come in here they can be guaranteed a good meal and good conversation,” says Fatima Castilho, co-owner of Aux Routiers, a Relais Routiers 15 miles south of Paris.
Indeed, on a recent visit to the nondescript 70-seat roadside restaurant, the place was popping at 8pm with a mix of lorry drivers – mostly men in their 30s and 40s – sprinkled with a few in-the-know locals.
“The decor leaves much to be desired, but that’s not why you come here,” says Anthony Drevet, a 33-yearold journalist who arrived with a group of friends – mostly mechanics – who work nearby. “You come here first and foremost for traditional French food at a cheap price.”
Drevet has a point about the decor, which could be described as minimalist at best. Several antique toy trucks sit on the shelves accompanied by vintage posters and some kitsch wall clocks. The traditional wooden ceiling panelling adds a hint of charm for anyone that notices; most don’t. They’ve come to eat.
For a mere €12.80 (£11), diners get a three-course meal, complete with a starter, main and dessert. Tonight’s special includes a tuna quiche, roast chicken with chips and salad, and homemade lemon meringue tart. A glass of wine costs as little as €1.50 (£1.28) extra.
There are also a la carte options: eight different starters and nine traditional main courses including country paté, duck liver mousse, fish soup, tête de veau (calf ’s head), white fish in Béarnaise sauce, and calf ’s liver sauteed with parsley. If you’re pushing the boat out, there’s also steak.
“I always go with the steak,” says Samuel Dominique, a 52-year-old lorry driver who dines at Aux Routiers at least twice a month. “And this could be
great for England!” he adds, reflecting on his not-so-stellar memories of driving his truck in the UK a decade ago. “There was nothing. I had to eat in gas stations. I couldn’t shower for days.”
At Aux Routiers, the adjoining shower block is free to use, as is standard across the road network. Some 4,000 copies of Le Guide des
Relais Routiers, the guidebook listing all Relais Routiers, are sold in France every year. All member restaurants must also meet certain criteria to obtain the coveted red and blue Relais Routiers label. This includes keeping the “spirit of a relais” so that customers feel at home, using fresh produce and offering traditional French cuisine, keeping menu prices below 14 euros, and providing washing facilities and ample parking for the lorries.
More than 60 of the Relais Routiers have also been given gold-star distinction, with a tiny casserole symbol distinguishing them as a cut above.
The “ace caff with a nice hot shower attached” concept dates back to 1934, when François de Saulieu, a journalist for the now defunct newspaper Paris-midi, was assigned a piece about working conditions for lorry drivers. Struck by the solitude of the profession, de Saulieu and a colleague launched a magazine that was the basis for the official guidebook.
If the loneliness of the longdistance lorry driver was de Saulieu’s prime motivation, by any measure his enterprise has been a success. “It’s certainly friendlier to lorry drivers than any other kind of restaurant,” says Castilho. Mingling with strangers would be thought of as unusual at most French establishments, but at a Relais Routiers it’s almost expected.
“You never feel alone in one of these places,” says Regis Louiseau, a 61-yearold lorry driver who has been a regular at Aux Routiers for more than 15 years.
Standing by the bar with a glass of wine in hand, Louiseau jerks his head in the direction of four friends in the corner next to him, who all nod in agreement.
“This is our decompression zone,” says Geoffry Labaune, one of Louiseau’s colleagues. “Without these places, we would probably just be sitting alone in our trucks at night. It wouldn’t be enough to simply call this a restaurant. To us, it’s so much more.”
“We get British lorry drivers all the time, and they love it here,” says Castilho, adding he was surprised to learn that a similar concept didn’t exist in the UK.
During the first wave of Covid-19, government restrictions forced the Relais Routiers to shut.
“I had to eat gas station sandwiches in my truck,” says Dominique, adding that the only saving grace was the mini television he keeps in his cab. “At one point, I considered quitting altogether. It was a rough time.” But, he says, he’s happy he decided to stick it out.
Relais Routiers have been fully reopened since May, and lorry drivers have also been granted a special exemption from France’s health pass requirement, meaning they don’t need to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative Covid-19 test to use them.
“We had a difficult year,” says Fatima Castilho, “but we managed. Now we’re back… and ready to serve.”