French PM to meet representatives of protesting taxi drivers
Bayrou will open the meeting, which will be held in the transport ministry, an aide in his office said on Thursday.
Taxi drivers have since Monday been protesting in Paris and other cities in France over a government decision to set a new fare rate from October for the subsidised transport of certified ill passengers.
Their actions have included rolling roadblocks and blockades of key sites such as Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.
READ ALSO
What to expect from this week's taxi protests
The change is part of French government efforts to rein in soaring health costs. Last year, the subsidised taxi system cost France €3 billion.
But drivers have complained that lower fares for transporting people to medical appointments would cut their revenues by more than a quarter. They are also angry over what they see as laxer rules and regulations for VTC drivers, such as Uber.
Advertisement
So far, the protests, which began on Monday, have been disruptive. In the Paris area on Wednesday, a go-slow campaign caused over 450km of traffic jams, Actu France reported.
Meanwhile blockades have hit towns and cities including Marseille, Toulon, Amiens, Bordeaux and Pau - the hometown of PM Bayrou.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
2 hours ago
- LeMonde
French renewable energy is in turmoil after massive Spanish power outage
"France is producing too much electricity, risking a financial meltdown." In mid-April, the business daily La Tribune sounded the alarm. The headline summed up a concern that has gripped part of the French energy and political world for months: While in 2022 the country braced for potential power cuts due to nuclear fleet failures, soaring energy prices and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a new fear has been raised – overproduction. The main culprits are solar and wind power, which are providing increasingly more energy while electricity consumption is stagnating. Their rise could threaten the grid, public finances and the nuclear fleet, prompting calls to slow – or even stop – their development. Just days before stepping down as CEO of EDF (multinational electric utility company), Luc Rémont described to lawmakers in the French Sénat on April 22 the "major challenge" posed by "the growing gap between supply and demand" for electricity. "In the coming years, we will have to ensure that this imbalance between dispatchable sources [notably nuclear] and intermittent sources [renewables] does not undermine the stability of the system, either physically or economically. That is truly the greatest challenge we face," he stressed.
LeMonde
7 hours ago
- LeMonde
Lula presses Macron on Mercosur trade deal during Paris visit
French President Emmanuel Macron and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may have a close relationship, but that does not always prevent serious disagreements. Macron welcomed Lula to Paris on Thursday, June 5, for a two-day state visit, and the two leaders were set to meet again at a United Nations conference on ocean protection in Nice from June 9 to 13. The state dinner at the Elysée, which was attended by a large number of guests, was preceded earlier in the day by a tense moment during a joint press conference following their welcome at Les Invalides and initial talks. Lula launched into a passionate plea for the signing of the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur (the South American trade bloc). "My dear Macron, open your heart a little," he urged the French president, who has deemed the compromise negotiated by the European Commission "unacceptable in its current form." Such an EU-Mercosur agreement would be "the best response our regions can give in a scenario of uncertainty brought about by the return of unilateralism and tariff protectionism," added the former trade unionist, referring to the threat of trade wars posed by US president Donald Trump. The Brazilian leader even encouraged the 27 member states to sign the agreement during his presidency of Mercosur in the second half of 2025.
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Palestinian detained in France after rabbi hit with chair
According to the source, the suspect attacked Rabbi Elie Lemmel in the western Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine. Lemmel, who wore a traditional kippah cap and a long beard, was taken to hospital with a head injury. The assailant was arrested. The attacker is a Palestinian man residing illegally in Germany, said a source close to the case, adding that the man benefits from a status that offers a form of protection for people who cannot be deported to a conflict zone. An investigation has been launched into aggravated assault, prosecutors said. The rabbi said he had been attacked twice in the space of a week. Last Friday he was attacked in the northwestern town of Deauville when three drunk individuals hit him in the stomach. On Friday, the rabbi was talking to a person he had arranged to meet when he was attacked, receiving "a huge blow to the head". "I fell to the ground and heard people shouting 'stop him', and I realised that I had just been attacked," he told broadcaster BFMTV. "I am very afraid that we are living in a world where words are generating more and more evil," he said. The French Jewish community, one of the largest in the world, has faced a number of attacks and desecrations of memorials since the Gaza war erupted on October 7, 2023. In January, the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) deplored what it called a "historic" level of antisemitic acts. - 'Clashes fuelled by hatred' - While welcoming the fact that attack was not fatal, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou deplored "the radicalisation of public debate." "Day after day, our country is plagued by clashes fuelled by hatred," he told reporters, also pointing to assaults against "our Muslim compatriots". The CRIF condemned "in the strongest possible terms the anti-Semitic attack on the rabbi". "In a general context where hatred of Israel fuels the stigmatisation of Jews on a daily basis, this attack is yet another illustration of the toxic climate targeting French Jews," the CRIF said on X. Yonathan Arfi, the CRIF president, said: "Nothing, not even solidarity with the Palestinians, can ever justify attacking a rabbi." France's Holocaust memorial, three Paris synagogues and a restaurant were vandalised with paint last week. A judge has charged three Serbs with vandalising the Jewish sites "to serve the interests of a foreign power", a judicial source said on Friday. In 2024, a total of 1,570 antisemitic acts were recorded in France, according to the interior ministry. Officials say the number of such crimes has increased in the wake of the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people. The attack was followed by relentless Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which the Hamas-run health ministry has said resulted in the deaths of at least 54,677 people, and an aid blockade.
