French police have raided the offices of Uber in Paris as the taxi service continues to operate in the city despite officials claiming that it breaks national laws.
Hot on the heels of charges being made against Uber employees in South Korea over allegations of operating illegal taxi rings, Le Monde is now reporting that French Police have raided Uber’s offices in Paris. The newspaper reports that 25 policemen raided the building, seizing documents and electronic hardware.
Uber has been operating a low-cost service called UberPop in Paris. As The Verge points out, French authorities passed a new at the start of 2015 which requires taxi services must licence and insure its drivers. Officials claim that Uber breaks these rules; Uber claims that its service is legal according to the letter of the law. One of them must be wrong. Uber continues to operate.
The Verge reports that ‘the raid unfolded 48 hours after France’s supreme court referred “two key provisions” of the chauffeur licensing law to the country’s constitutional court.’ Meanwhile, Uber has referred to the raid as an “attempt at intimidation” adding that it will “vigorously defend the rights conferred upon it by EU law and the French Constitution.” It remains to be seem what will become of Uber in France — and, for that matter, the rest of the world. [LeMonde via Verge]
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