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Ride-sharing service Uber has exited the French market following taxi driver protests, a ban by the French interior minister, and the arrest of two managers:
Following a week of increasingly violent clashes with traditional taxi drivers, the San Francisco-based company announced that its popular Uberpop service would be suspended from 8pm tonight and would no longer appear on users' app lists.
'In recent weeks intimidation and violent aggression by an out-of-control minority, where drivers and users of Uberpop were ambushed, has increased in France. Uber does not want to put drivers or passengers at risk, so for the sake of peace has decided to suspend Uberpop,' said the company in a statement. However, the service is in fact illegal in France. Last week, Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, general manager for Western Europe, and Thibaud Simphal, general manager of Uber France, were arrested. They will have their day in court in September.
Uber said it hoped to be back up and running as soon as possible. It thanked the "thousands of men and women from Lille to Marseille, via Paris, Bordeaux or Lyon who participated with enthusiasm in the urban transport revolution".
(Score: 5, Informative) by frojack on Saturday July 04 2015, @04:48AM
For Uber to just show up in a place like France with the expectation of wild enthusiasm demonstrates a profound ignorance of human nature.
Nice story.
BUT You forget that the only french people Uber was un-popular with were Taxi drivers. Other than that the citizens lapped it up in great numbers.
Sort of like Seattle, New York, Chicago, etc.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday July 04 2015, @04:44PM
Modded Troll? Don't think so. Wish i had mod points...
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---