France orders Uber crackdown following day of airport protests
France has ordered an outright ban on car-sharing service Uber after a day of nationwide protests by taxi drivers which blocked access to Paris airports.
Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the service was illegal and ordered its closure.
It came after a day of protests in Paris and in other cities across France which at times turned violent.
Blockades were set up on airport access points around Paris and around train stations in Marseilles and Aix-en-Provence.
Angry drivers overturned cars and burned tires, prompting riot police to fire tear gas.
Aeroports de Paris, which operates Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, warned passengers to travel by train because road access was completely blocked.
It drafted in emergency shuttle services to help passengers stranded in traffic queues, while other passengers had to walk along the motorways to reach the terminals.
Musician Courtney Love Cobain was caught up in the protest and tweeted saying her driver has been taken hostage and protesters were ‘beating the cars with metal bats’.
She added on Instragram: "how on earth are these people allowed to do this? the first car was destroyed, all tires slashed and beat with bats, these guys trying to open the doors and the cops are doing nothing?? French Taliban? civil reform needed in France?? I want to go home."
She later thanked two motorcyclists who had helped her get to safety.
French taxi drivers have been urging the government to do more to stop the growth of Uber.
They say they are being unfairly undercut by Uber drivers, who do not have to pay license fees despite new legislation.
They claim they have lost between 30% and 40% of their income over two years because of the expansion of the car sharing site.
Although tighter laws were recently passed in the French courts, taxi drivers say many Uber drivers are still operating without being properly licensed.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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