Daily Management Review

Uber Heads are Arrested in France


06/29/2015


French police have detained two executives Uber created a mobile application UberPOP search for calling and paying cheap taxis and private drivers.



Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
According to Reuters, were detained the head of the French subsidiary Uber Thibaud Simphal and head of the department in Western Europe Uber Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty.

Last Friday, the Minister of Internal Affairs of France Bernard Cazeneuve said the service UberPOP should be closed, and vehicles - confiscated if they continue to carry passengers.

Service UberPop, through which one can order a car cheaper than a traditional taxi had already been declared illegal in France, but continued to work until the ban is challenged in court.

At the time, Uber said that the service is going to operate in France as long as it does not prohibited by the highest court of the country.

French taxi drivers, who pay thousands of euros for their licenses, accused Uber of unfair competition because their drivers do not pass the licensing by the authorities. They believe that they have lost 30% to 40% of their income in the past two years because of the growing popularity of Uber.

Last week, the French taxi drivers blocked the roads leading to Paris airport to protest against Uber - American company, which is used by mobile applications for searching, calling and paying cheap taxis and private drivers.

Drivers blocked roads and burned tires during a nationwide protest.

Barriers have been installed on the road near Marseilles and Aix-en-Provence in the southeast of France.

Uber has expanded the services of its application UberPOP, now offering the ability to share private taxis, despite the objections of the French government, which caused the recent protests.

Uber himself estimated at one million the number of people who use their services in France.

Earlier this year, in several cities in Russia there was a strike of taxi drivers opposed to the policy online ordering service vehicles.

Protests against the Uber taxi drivers were also held in Madrid, London, Milan, Berlin and other major European cities.

source: bbc.com