Roads, stations, and airport disrupted as taxi driver protests continue in south of France
Major roads around Marseille and Toulon are set to be blocked for second day
Taxi drivers are protesting over changes to hospital transportation fees and ride-hailing apps
HJBC/Shutterstock
Protest action by taxi drivers is set to continue for a second day in several areas and particularly in the south of France.
On Monday, taxi drivers in Paris and other major cities including Marseille and Lyon blocked roads and caused hundreds of kilometres of traffic jams.
They were protesting over a change in how hospital transport fees are calculated for drivers, as well as the increased presence of ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Bolt in France.
The strike action was declared as ‘reconductible’ meaning it had no fixed end date and can be repeated on several days.
Taxi drivers can engage in protests at any point but usually coordinate disruption and opt to block specific roads or areas.
Read more: New carsharing lane to come into service on Paris ring road
Roads into Marseille and Toulon blocked
The cities of Marseille and Toulon in the south are the main locations affected by today’s action.
Authorities in the Bouches-du-Rhône department warned yesterday evening that taxi drivers would again mobilise to block major roads.
Three motorways leading into the city – the A7, A51, A55 and the A50 – are all set to be blockaded by taxi drivers this morning, leading to delays.
Disruption is also expected by drivers at Marseille-Provence airport as well as the Marseille St Charles and Aix-en-Provence TGV stations, where blockades (points de filtrage) will be set up by drivers, slowing down traffic.
Taxi drivers are also planning to block the A50 to the west of Toulon, as well as the A57.
Motorway concessionaire Vinci is currently offering live updates on the disruption on its website.
Will taxis disrupt other cities?
As of 08:00 this morning, it is only drivers in the Bouches-du-Rhône and Var that have begun mobilising, as well as those in the overseas department/region of Réunion.
However, drivers in several other major cities made it clear that further strike action was possible, and this could in theory begin later today.
Drivers in and around major cities should therefore be aware of the potential for disruption in the coming days.
Two convoys of taxis, heading to Pau and Paris in search of a meeting with prime minister François Bayrou (who splits his time between the two), took part in Monday’s demonstrations.
These taxis could again take to the roads, as it has not been reported that drivers were successful in their attempts to engage with Mr Bayrou.
