Uber vs. l’État: Battle Over Ride-Sharing Continues in France

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By Beliz Bolukbasi

November 4, 2026

PARIS, France – UberPop: The Culprit in France

“Ubering” is a term that Americans students tend to use frequently. “Did you get the Uber?” is a common catchphrase; “oh sorry, I think that’s our Uber!” is a quite irritating, yet a solid argument that generally does not leave any room for a rebound.

UberX appeals more to students particularly because it is not only a means of transportation, but also an experience by itself: predicting what kind of car you will get, trying to read the name of the driver out loud, scrutinizing his picture and commenting on it, and of course, once you have reached your destination, rating the service you have just received. On the flipside of all the convenience and glamour of Uber, it has been suffering from a growing backlash all around the world.

On June 25, 2015, more than a thousand licensed taxi drivers in Paris staged a mini-guerilla fight as they flipped Uber cars over and forcefully took drivers out of their Ubers before burning the cars. An Uber carrying the American rock singer Courtney Love was ambushed and the driver was held hostage by two protesters for hours. Access to the three main terminals of Charles De Gaulle, the largest international airport of France, were blocked due to the violent protests. Dozens of tourists heading to the airport had to walk unattended on the highway.

All the rage in Paris was directed at UberPOP, a low-cost car-sharing service that operates in Europe which Uber first launched in February 2014. What’s special about UberPOP is that anyone can become a driver without professional license. Yet, it is even a more attractive option compared to UberX because it is 30 percent cheaper. For example, to go from Opéra to Hôtel de Ville, you will pay around €7 with UberPOP instead of around €10 with UberX.  

Nevertheless, not everyone is happy about this low-cost service. Licensed taxi drivers say that independent taxi drivers are driving them out of business, whereas Uber drivers argue that regular taxi drivers have failed to change with the times.

In September 22, 2015, France's highest court upheld a law that bans Uber's low-cost car-hailing service, nearly three months after taxi unions staged nationwide protests against UberPop. Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber's general manager for Western Europe, and Thibaud Simphal, the general manager at Uber France, are currently facing six criminal charges, including deceptive commercial practices, complicity in instigating illegal taxi-driving activity, the illegal storing of personal information- and up to two years in prison. For now the trial is delayed until mid-February, but it seems like the rage surrounding UberPop in France will not be subsiding for a while.

It is interesting that Uber, a service that American students readily use for transportation is facing a more arduous route in Europe. Ride-sharing and car-pooling services are slowly becoming more common, but the process seems to be taking longer than other parts of the world. In Europe, it seems for the moment, tradition is overpowering change.