[Yacoby]

It sounds good, then you try and get a TER (regional train) and find there is one or two a day, using old rolling stock, overcrowded for an exorbitant price.

So if you want to take a TGV to/from Paris, it is nice. Anything else, less so (try looking at fast train route from Lyon to Bordeaux - through Paris)

[black_puppydog]

It's not just trains. You might have a look at this book that I can't recommend enough: https://www.leslibraires.fr/livre/24410316-quand-le-parisian...

FWIW yes, TERs need much, much, much more love in France. Instead, the govt is still refusing to finance repairs to re-open e.g. the "massif central" line.