A taxi drivers’ strike has plunged Paris, Marseille, and other big cities into chaos. Approximately 5,000 taxi drivers have taken to the streets, blocking motorways, torching pallets, and clashing violently with police. On Boulevard Raspail in Paris, police repeatedly confronted protestors with clouds of tear gas. Airports and train stations have been blockaded by angry taxi drivers. At Marseille-Provence airport, thousands of tourists were stranded, including Brits forced to walk along motorways dragging their suitcases behind them just to get to or from the terminal. Convoys of taxis have been crawling along major roads to deliberately snarl up traffic and maximise disruption, in an operation dubbed by the unions as ‘operation snail’s pace’. The result has been hundreds of kilometres of gridlock and a lot of angry commuters.
Too many people are used to getting something from the state
At the heart of this mess is France’s exceptionally generous medical transport system. French taxi drivers, among the highest-paid in the world, can earn as much as €8,000 a month through reimbursements provided by the state for transporting patients under the national health system. With a simple doctor’s note saying they have trouble getting around, patients are given access to state-funded taxis. Approximately 43,000 taxis regularly shuttle patients to hospitals, physiotherapy sessions, and routine GP visits, or even just to do their shopping. This generosity costs the French taxpayer €3 billion a year, which works out to about €78 a ride. Such luxuries would be unimaginable in Britain, where NHS patients typically rely on public transport or personal arrangements. In some areas, the margins for taxi drivers are so high that there are reports of patients being ferried in luxury cars such as BMWs, Audis, and Teslas.
Facing a healthcare deficit expected to reach €15.3 billion, the French government has proposed modest reforms on its taxi scheme, aiming to save €300 million annually. The government has acknowledged that the scheme has grown far beyond its original purpose and is unsustainable. The planned reductions involve lowering the taxi base fare reimbursed to drivers by the state from €15 to €13 per trip and imposing caps on mileage fees that drivers can claim. Drivers are outraged and claim that this represents up to a 40 per cent drop in their income.
Prime Minister François Bayrou faces a political challenge. His hometown of Pau has specifically been targeted by taxi drivers, who have blockaded railway stations and congested motorways as a pointed political gesture. The pressure underscores Bayrou’s vulnerability amid broader governmental instability, marked by ongoing strikes across public services and a coalition whose parliamentary majority hangs by a thread. The Prime Minister’s position has grown shakier still over a recent scandal over alleged cover-ups at a Catholic school at a time he was Minister of Education.
Bayrou met taxi union leaders on Saturday, promising to re-examine the reforms, but drivers, unconvinced, voted to continue protests, with 1,200 taxis blocking streets around Paris on Sunday. There are hints at a compromise and further meetings are planned. Sensing the fragility of the government, taxi drivers are determined to push their advantage and have been warning of further disruption. Drivers have vowed to block the tennis at Roland-Garros, as well as to block Paris airports if their demands continue to go unmet.
The strike highlights a deeper French dilemma. The country appears either unable or unwilling to undertake necessary budget reforms. Historical attempts at reform, from pensions in 1995 to fuel taxes in 2018, have consistently collapsed under pressure from protests. This taxi strike reflects the entrenched resistance to reform in France. Ultimately, the government is expected to cave, safeguarding drivers’ substantial incomes. Pressure will likely force ministers to look for savings in politically safer areas, such as education or the arts, where resistance is less likely to provoke such chaos.
This strike isn’t just about money. It says something deeper about French politics. France needs to cut spending. But too many people are used to getting something from the state. Patients expect to be driven to the doctor for free. Drivers expect to be paid generously for doing it. Reform is always talked about but rarely delivered. Any changes can lead to chaos. And with Bayrou’s government on a knife-edge, it’s hard to see how it can stand firm. Yet at some point, it’ll have to. France cannot keep spending like this forever. Sooner or later, the government will need to confront vested interests if it wants the country to survive.
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