Patrick Seeger/Epa Hollande: Strasbourg express will keep rolling French President stresses France will never let go of European Parliament’s Strasbourg seat.

STRASBOURG, France – This city will never lose its status as a European capital, despite the high cost of shuttling European Union politicians from Brussels, French President François Hollande has declared.

The two express trains that run from Brussels to Strasbourg are just like the train to Hogwarts, only instead of young wizards, they carry Members of European Parliament, staffers and journalists.

Racing through the French countryside this week are between 3,000 and 4,000 people, making their pilgrimage for this month's plenary session, which runs Monday through Thursday.

The trains, plus the costs of couriered documents, accommodations, meals and so on, drain taxpayers of an estimated €114 million a year. Although MEPs Strasbourg offices are not used 317 days of the year, 100 full-time staff keep up the building.

Hollande has unequivocally ruled out any change to the system.

"Never will France authorize any modification of any kind," Hollande said on Sunday, according to Agence France-Press, as he signed new agreements to provide close to €1 billion in additional funding to Strasbourg and the surrounding Alsace region.

Shifting the Parliament permanently to Brussels would require the unanimous approval of all 28 member states of the European Union. And Hollande is surely a no-vote.

So there’s no getting off the Strasbourg express.

This story was updated to correct a figure

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