I had the misfortune to be travelling back from Paris on the TGV on Monday. Our train was cancelled but we were lucky enough to be able to shove onto another to get home. However, instead of our little treat first class seats, we 'slummed it' anywhere we could find somewhere to park our backsides. Since we had been travelling for 24 hours by then, I was too tired to tackle anyone on arrival about the loss of our first class status.

Do I have any recourse? If so, where/who? The SNCF website seems not to have any obvious link.

Commiserate with you - this could have happened to me yesterday. I should have been going to Paris from Béziers but OH went sick, so I cancelled my trip (in time to be reimbursed). I discovered later that I would have had to change at Nîmes, meaning that my reserved seat from Béziers didn't exist on the second train and I would probably have been standing all the way to Paris... You were lucky to find seats, in fact
No recourse I'm afraid, it's not the SNCF at fault, but the hard-core CGTistes in the PACA and Languedoc-Roussillon who persist in continuing their strike.

You could try pleading your case at a Boutique SNCF. Some times you get someone nice, and helpful. But like every service related issue in this country, it's hit or miss. Bon courage !

I'm an eternal optimist, or a glutton for punishment, but I've reserved TGVs for next week to replace this week's trip! Deo-, CGT- and OH-Volente...
The SNCF Info-Lignes site gives up-to-date news on strike action a few days ahead of the scheduled departure, which gives time to sort out a Plan B if necessary and get reimbursed before the departure. But I'm still dubious about the SNCF reimbursing standing passengers or the price-difference between 1st- and 2nd-class seats - you can but try... Non-striking personnel in the public services are usually helpful (and in my experience apologetic!)

I seem to remember getting some money back from SNCF a few years ago because the TGV was late. I didn’t even have to ask for it. I think their TGV is a matter of national pride and they have schemes in place to compensate customers if all is not well. I would write to SNCF on paper, providing them with as much documentation as possible.