Despite co-operating on the Thalys, Deutsche Bahn has had a long dispute with their Belgian counterparts to get permission for the ICE to run to Brussels. I doubt there will ever be an ICE connection to Paris if SCNF has any say in it. French protectionism and nationalism is on the rise in line with the general European trend.
Originally Posted by Track
This is also what various German railfan magazines have said. The line is basically a new, high-speed railroad from outside Paris to short of Strasbourg, with branches to various smaller French towns, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Strasbourg/Suttgart and Mulhouse/Basel. I don't know whether all the branches will be in opreation for high-speed trains next year. Questions have arisen on why the Stuttgart trains won't be extended to Munich, the exact routing and stops on the Frankfurt line and whether this means the demise of the "Orient Express" (Paris-Vienna overnight train). There's als a question on varying prices for using the TGV and the ICE train. Thalys (a TGV derivative), for instance, charges 1.60 Euro more on Cologne-Brussels than ICE does, even though both are high-speed services. What does this mean for competition?