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I am astounded that the French government is doing exactly what the violent Taxi protesters (rioters?) wanted. This sends a clear message to any other groups: b

by steve19 11y ago

I am astounded that the French government is doing exactly what the violent Taxi protesters (rioters?) wanted. This sends a clear message to any other groups: burn enough cars and blockade an airport and you will get what you want. I thought the Taxi drivers would be condemned by politicians and the French public.

dylanjermiah 11y ago
They're rewarding violence, destruction and kid napping. Terrible.
renaudg 11y ago
I'm French and astounded too. You are exactly right. Petitions in support of Uber are being run very successfully at the moment, and most people around me (working in tech) have vowed to never ever take a taxi again after what happened, but I'm not sure the general public cares that much :(
Kurtz79 11y ago
Taxi drivers ae a large, compact and numerous community. Politicians will be queueing to show their support, hopefully to be remembered come election time.
golergka 11y ago
> burn enough cars and blockade an airport and you will get what you want I was under impression that that's how French government, as a lot of other European governments work anyway.
Tomte 11y ago
Maybe Uber staged those protests, so that nobody would think about stepping in against them. ;-)
hussong 11y ago
Generally speaking: how many violent protests do you need before you consider changing the law? Nasty as that may seem, but without violent protests, France would possibly still be a kingdom (and the US a colony).
aikah 11y ago
Well that's how you get stuffs in France, taxis, farmers, truckers, nurses,alike... If you want something from the government in France you've got to set on fire, or destroy something in Paris or you won't be heard. No surprise here. It has always been that way. Elections are meaningless in this country, chaos in the streets of Paris has always been more effective than a vote to bend a government that knows nothing but reaction, that never acts nor has a long term political vision for this country. Everything makes perfect sense. The french government is always in that defensive position. That's an unfortunate but direct consequence of the structure of the 5th republic.

by steve19 11y ago

dylanjermiah 11y ago

They're rewarding violence, destruction and kid napping. Terrible.

renaudg 11y ago

I'm French and astounded too. You are exactly right. Petitions in support of Uber are being run very successfully at the moment, and most people around me (working in tech) have vowed to never ever take a taxi again after what happened, but I'm not sure the general public cares that much :(

Kurtz79 11y ago

Taxi drivers ae a large, compact and numerous community. Politicians will be queueing to show their support, hopefully to be remembered come election time.

golergka 11y ago

> burn enough cars and blockade an airport and you will get what you want I was under impression that that's how French government, as a lot of other European governments work anyway.

Tomte 11y ago

Maybe Uber staged those protests, so that nobody would think about stepping in against them. ;-)

hussong 11y ago

Generally speaking: how many violent protests do you need before you consider changing the law? Nasty as that may seem, but without violent protests, France would possibly still be a kingdom (and the US a colony).

aikah 11y ago

Well that's how you get stuffs in France, taxis, farmers, truckers, nurses,alike... If you want something from the government in France you've got to set on fire, or destroy something in Paris or you won't be heard. No surprise here. It has always been that way. Elections are meaningless in this country, chaos in the streets of Paris has always been more effective than a vote to bend a government that knows nothing but reaction, that never acts nor has a long term political vision for this country. Everything makes perfect sense. The french government is always in that defensive position. That's an unfortunate but direct consequence of the structure of the 5th republic.