French taxis strike for second week, causing traffic snarls

PARIS, Feb 6 (KUNA) — For the second time in two weeks, French taxi drivers went on strike here Wednesday to protest a government plan to liberalize the sector and allow more taxis on the road to meet growing demand, union sources and drivers said.
In Paris, where the largest number of taxis are based, there were over 5, 000 cars in a protest that blocked certain areas of the capital in the 16th district near the Arc de Triomphe monument.
Attempts to go to the Paris airports were not successful, sources said.
There are only 15,000 cabs in the French capital and the government says more are needed, but drivers say that there already is not enough work for the taxis working in Paris.
“There are times when cabs are stacked up at taxi ranks in the city and also and have to wait for hours at the Paris airports before loading,” said Francois Appelle, who has been driving a cab for over two years and frequents the airport on a regular basis.
On the other side, clients complain there are not enough taxis in this city of 12 million inhabitants, and in London, which has a similar population, there are four times as many cabs.
High pay-roll taxes and constraints on working hours are said by drivers to be taking a toll on drivers, who are strictly controlled as to their working hours and who must pay very high overheads.
The government, which is reacting to a report on liberalizing the French economy, maintains that more taxis will loosen up the market and benefit all, an argument Appelle rejects.
“More cabs will force out the least efficient in the business and will not create a better environment because the competition is not fair to begin with, ” he said.
The new law on taxis is likely to issue several hundred new licences and speed up training for new drivers.
Unions representing taxi drivers say they will continue their country-wide protests, which began last Wednesday, and hit all major cities in France