Everything You Need to Know about Paris Revolting Against Uber
Uber, by this point, is notorious for its ability to stir up a bit of chaos. The business model Uber holds doesn’t seem to sit with everyone. This is prevalent when looking at the strikes that occurred in the San Francisco Bay after Barbara Ann Berwick won a trial that defined her as an employee, not a contractor. Across the Atlantic earlier this week Paris, France erupted in chaos. The city’s taxi service that typically does well because of a high volume of tourist attraction is getting drained out by UberPOP, a low-costTaxi alternative that is gaining heavy traction.
1. Uber, is as of now, illegal in France
The French Government declared Uber illegal around a year ago, but Uber has dragged on the trail by refusing to settle the fight. In anger, taxi drivers and Uber haters alike have taken to the streets with mayhem. Uber has told their drivers to keep operating until they have “assessed legal grounds [on which] measures should be implemented.” The result, unfortunately has pushed french taxi drivers to act aggressively.
2. Things escalated from what was supposed to be a calm protest
Protests aren’t uncommon in France. What was initially practiced was a snail operation, which consists of a blockade on main highways to prevent traffic from passing through. Things escalated quickly and the protesters became rioters. Pictures now flood the internet with burning tires, tipping cars and shattered windshields. Courtney Love happened to be in the chaos and vented via twitter.
3. The protesters involved are reportedly only about 1,000.
Uber spokesman, Thomas Meister told CNN, “There’s 50,000 taxis in France, only roughly 1,000 are demonstrating today and the violence is just unacceptable, We’re talking about a small minority, totally reluctant to (accept) any sort of change.” Another reporter living in France and working for The Verge explains that the chaos was extreme but only covered specific areas in France which didn’t affect the rest of the city. He wrote, ” the truth is that aside from my unusually roomy bike ride, things inside the city were surprisingly normal. Tourists were still gawking with their selfie sticks, and cafes were still full of the usual happy hour smokers, staring out at nothing in particular.”
Since then, officials have been urged to handle the situation and the French Government has been nudged to halt all Uber operations until the final verdict, on UberPOP’s legality, is found.
Sources: The Verge | CNN | NYTimes
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