Taxi drivers set a fire at the Invalides during a protest against lower mileage rates. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Thousands of taxi drivers have descended on Paris, effectively bringing the French capital to a standstill in a week when Michel Barnier is likely to be toppled as Prime Minister.
French newspaper Le Parisien reported “major disruptions” on the road, with the city essentially “paralysed”, especially on the busy A1 motorway.
More than 2,000 taxis are expected near the National Assembly (7th arrondissement) today, where some have been parked since 8 am.
Pictures showed some waving flares, flaming barricades, and riot police gathered in the city centre.
According to the Sytadin website, traffic is saturated on the A1 between Gonesse (Val-d’Oise) and Porte de la Chapelle (18th arrondissement). It is also blocked on the A12 and on the A13 towards Paris to reach Porte d’Auteuil.
Taxi drivers waves smoke bombs at the Invalides during a protest against lower mileage rates for pat. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Taxi drivers are furious at changes in the healthcare transport system introduced in the 2024 Social Security budget.
These require taxi drivers to offer car-sharing for medical patient transport, where multiple patients may need to be transported simultaneously.
Drivers argue that this reform, part of cost-saving measures by the French National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM), will force them to provide additional discounts, which they claim will make their services unsustainable financially.
Recent demonstrations have included rolling blockades and slow-traffic operations in Paris and other cities, such as Marseille and Bordeaux, significantly disrupting major routes.
Taxi drivers gather at the Invalides, during a protest against lower mileage rates. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Taxi drivers want “the abandonment of measures threatening the taxi transport of patients”.
According to the Team Taxi association, they also want to “combat illegal competition from VTC platforms” (meaning transport cars with drivers or driver-driven cars, such as Uber, Bolt…) and “finally promote taxis as an essential public service.”
Mr Barnier faces a no-confidence vote this week due to disputes over his proposed budget, which includes £ 33 billion (€40 billion) in spending cuts and £16.5 billion (€20 billion) in tax hikes to reduce the deficit.
His reliance on Article 49.3 to bypass parliamentary approval has incited backlash, particularly from the far-right National Rally and the left-wing New Popular Front, who argue the measures are unfair and austere.
Both groups have threatened to unite against its minority government.
Without their support, Mr Barnier’s government could collapse, leaving Mr Macron to navigate yet more political turmoil, given that new elections cannot be called until the summer of 2025.
Posting on X yesterday, Mr Barnier, the European Union‘s former chief Brexit negotiator who was only appointed by Mr Macron in September, shared a clip of him addressing the National Assembly, commenting: “We are in a moment of truth. I have gone to the end of the dialogue.
“On the basis of Article 49.3, I hold the government responsible for the social security financing bill.”
French Republicain Security Corps (CRS) officers face taxi drivers at the Invalides during a protest. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The rally is also happening days before the reopening of Notre Dame this coming weekend, which promises to be a high-security affair.
A repeat of some measures used during the Paris Olympics and the sealing off of the cathedral’s island location in the heart of Paris to tourists are anticipated, with US President-elect Donald Trump set to attend.
After more than five years of reconstruction following the fire which devastated Notre Dame in 2019, invite-only ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday will usher in its rebirth.
Police chief Laurent Nunez said only people with invitations and the island’s residents will have access to the Ile de la Cite, which is in the middle of the River Seine. The Ile de la Cite includes Notre Dame and is habitually packed with tourists.