Taxi drivers block French roads and airport access in protest over fares
Taxi drivers are staging a series of blockades on Monday, including in Toulouse, Bordeaux and the outskirts of Paris, in protest over changes to the fare structure.
Monday will see a series of blockades and rolling roadblocks, with taxi drivers in Toulouse and Bordeaux targeting access to airports, while those in and around Paris will be aiming to cause disruption on the périphérique (ringroad).
By 9.30am on Monday, 400km of traffic jams had reported in the greater Paris region, with disruption centred on the A13 and the ringroad.
In Toulouse, taxi unions say they intend to bring road access to Toulouse-Blagnac airport "to a standstill", as well as access onto the Toulouse ringroad from adjacent motorways.
In Bordeaux taxi drivers intend to meet at 10am and form two convoys - one heading into the city centre and the other heading to Bordeaux-Mérignac airport. They intend to remain overnight and continue blockades into Tuesday.
Taxi drivers from Marseille and the surrounding areas intend to form up a convoy and create a rolling roadblock heading to Nîmes, while Brittany will also see protests centred on Rennes on Monday morning, as will the city of Lyon.
The drivers are protesting over changes to the fare structure for patient transport services.
In France, patients can obtain a prescription for transport by taxi to medical appointments, the cost of which is reimbursed by the government through the CPAM health service.
Fees for patient transport trips are set by the government and taxi drivers say the new fares do not take into account the rate of inflation and will lead to them making a loss on some patient transfer journeys.
READ ALSO How to get free transport to medical appointments
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Monday will see a series of blockades and rolling roadblocks, with taxi drivers in Toulouse and Bordeaux targeting access to airports, while those in and around Paris will be aiming to cause disruption on the périphérique (ringroad).
By 9.30am on Monday, 400km of traffic jams had reported in the greater Paris region, with disruption centred on the A13 and the ringroad.
In Toulouse, taxi unions say they intend to bring road access to Toulouse-Blagnac airport "to a standstill", as well as access onto the Toulouse ringroad from adjacent motorways.
In Bordeaux taxi drivers intend to meet at 10am and form two convoys - one heading into the city centre and the other heading to Bordeaux-Mérignac airport. They intend to remain overnight and continue blockades into Tuesday.
Taxi drivers from Marseille and the surrounding areas intend to form up a convoy and create a rolling roadblock heading to Nîmes, while Brittany will also see protests centred on Rennes on Monday morning, as will the city of Lyon.
The drivers are protesting over changes to the fare structure for patient transport services.
In France, patients can obtain a prescription for transport by taxi to medical appointments, the cost of which is reimbursed by the government through the CPAM health service.
Fees for patient transport trips are set by the government and taxi drivers say the new fares do not take into account the rate of inflation and will lead to them making a loss on some patient transfer journeys.
READ ALSO How to get free transport to medical appointments
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