2 Uber Executives Arrested, Ordered To Stand Trial In France
PARIS (CBS/AP) -- Two Uber France managers have been ordered to stand trial on behalf of the San Francisco-based company on charges including "deceptive commercial practices" and complicity in illegal activities linked to its low-cost ride-hailing service.
The Paris prosecutor's office said Tuesday that Thibault Simphal and Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty were taken into custody on Monday after a police sweep at Uber France headquarters. They will appear in a Paris court on Sept. 30.
French authorities say the low-cost UberPop service is illegal and are frustrated that Uber doesn't pay the same taxes and social charges as traditional taxis. Uber calls the French system outdated and says it needs reform to keep up with technological changes.
Claiming unfair competition, taxi drivers staged a violence-marred strike on the issue last week, smashing livery cars, setting tires ablaze and blocking traffic during a nationwide strike that caught tourists and celebrities alike in the mayhem.
Travelers going to and from the airport were forced to walk alongside highways with their bags, while others, including singer Courtney Love, had their cars set upon by striking taxi drivers.
"They've ambushed our car and are holding our driver hostage," Love tweeted. "They're beating the cars with metal bats. this is France?? I'm safer in Baghdad,"
The French government was aghast, with Prime Minister Manuel Valls lamenting: "These incidents give a deplorable image to visitors of our country."
Taxi drivers justified their rage, saying Uber's lowest-cost service UberPop was ruining their livelihoods.
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