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Uber Gives France A Taste Of Its Own Medicine

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Guy Bentley Research Associate, Reason Foundation
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Uber is fighting back against France’s regulatory crackdown in Paris.

Parisians were unable to access Uber between 11am and 3pm local time. Uber has been subjected to years or union protests and regulatory harassment in France. French Uber drivers decided to take matters into their own hands Tuesday and withhold their labor to protest what they see as unfair treatment by the government and cronyistic relationship with the big taxi unions.

Full-time drivers organized the protest, furious with the French government’s plans to further regulate the sector by banning salaried taxi drivers from working for Uber and other ride-sharing services.

These salaried workers represent between 20 and 30 percent of the ride-sharing labor force, according to The Verge.

The regulations were proposed after French taxi drivers staged a nationwide protest against Uber and other new companies that are competing with traditional taxis. In the wake of the protest, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls met with the bosses of the taxi unions and pledged to tighten up the restrictions on Uber.

Speaking to The Verge, spokesman for Uber France Thomas Meister said “we stand by our drivers, it’s as simple as that.

“We can’t let these people down,” he added. Last year, the government shut down its low-cost UberPop service after taxi protests turned violent.

In 2014, the taxi unions managed to have a “15-minute rule” instated requiring drivers working with taxi apps to wait 15 minutes after customers place a booking to pick them up. This measure was later struck down by France’s Council of State..

Despite hostility from politicians and the established industry Uber has proved popular with the wider population, recruiting 12,000 drivers and boasts around 1.4 million users.

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Tags : paris uber
Guy Bentley