‘Angry' French taxi drivers plan to continue protests
to and from hospitals, which represents a significant part of their income for some of them, particularly in rural areas.
The new pricing structure, due to come into force on October 1st, provides for a €13 charge to be covered by health insurance, followed by a kilometre rate. The government's aim is to limit the growth of healthcare transport costs.
On Tuesday,
meetings at the Ministry of Transport
and at the Ministry of Health, broke up with no solutions in sight.
Increased checks have been promised to limit the number of unlicenced drivers and the 'hailing' of private hire vehicles such as Uber (known as VTCs, or
Voitures de Transport avec Chauffeur
, in France), and technical meetings are planned, but union representatives denounced the lack of 'significant progress.'
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In Paris, the rallying point on Boulevard Raspail, where taxi drivers have been staging nightly protests for nine days, punctuated by firecrackers and smoke bombs, was 'partly empty last night,' according to Emmanuelle Cordier, president of the National Taxi Federation, but gatherings could pick up again from Wednesday.
'Most members have decided to continue the movement. They are very angry.' However, Cordier warned that future action will be 'more sporadic and less organised by the federations.'
In Pau, where Prime Minister François Bayrou is MP, around 200 taxis took part in a go-slow operation on Tuesday afternoon, taxis from several departments are expected to arrive, and farmers' union Coordination rurale has said it would to join the protest, Ms. Cordier said.
No action was planned on Wednesday around Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, in Parisian train stations, or around the Roland-Garros stadium, where the French Open tennis tournament is currently taking place.
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