Attention motorists, traffic could be difficult from December 3 to 5 in the Paris region! From this Tuesday, December 3, 2024, Paris and the Île-de-France region will be the scene of a major mobilization by cab drivers, Franceinfo informs us. At issue is the reduction in the kilometric rate for medical transport, from €1.50 to €1 per kilometer. This change, included in the new health insurance agreement, directly threatens an activity that accounts for up to 90% of the sales of many professionals.
At the initiative of the "Team cab" association, a gathering of drivers has been underway since 8am, around the National Assembly. A France Bleu Paris reporter reports that over a hundred cabs from cities such as Lille, Reims, Savoie and Normandy are on site. They parked between the National Assembly and the Invalides, in an atmosphere marked by the use of firecrackers and smoke bombs, under reinforced police surveillance. More than 2,000 cabs are expected to be in the vicinity of the Assemblée Nationale.
In addition to blockades in Paris, escargot operations are expected in neighboring departments, notably Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Essonne. In the direction of Paris, cabs are disrupting traffic this Tuesday morning, particularly on the A1 andA13 freeways, where a convoy of 800 cabs has left Louveciennes for the capital. At 9:30 a.m., the Sytadin website was already reporting more than 500 km of traffic jams in the region. Traffic is also complicated on theA6, with significant slowdowns between Ris-Orangis and Wissous, according to France Bleu Paris. Traffic is saturated on the A1 between Gonesse (Val-d'Oise) and Porte de la Chapelle (XVIIIe). There were also difficulties on theA12 and on the A13 towards Paris to reach Porte d'Auteuil. According to the Union nationale des cabs parisiens, other drivers, notably from Marseille and Lyon, are expected to join the movement in the afternoon.
Cab drivers' anger is not confined to the Paris region. According to the Fédération nationale du cab(FNDT), demonstrations are planned in some thirty départements, including Aude, Eure-et-Loir, Calvados and Gironde. The professionals are denouncing a reform which, in their view, does not take into account the real costs of medical transport and accentuates the precariousness of their profession, already weakened by competition from VTCs.
Faced with these disruptions, Parisians are advised to use public transport instead, and to follow real-time updates on traffic conditions. The situation around the National Assembly and on the main roads could remain tense for several days.
This mobilization reflects a deep malaise in the cab profession, where concern about the future is mingled with a demand for recognition of their crucial role in patient transport.
Dates and Opening Time
From December 3, 2024 to December 5, 2024
