Cannes Lions disrupted by French taxi strike against Uber
Cannes Lions faced disruption today after taxi drivers blockaded Nice Airport in protest against the ride-hailing service Uber.
The airport and the La Croisette promenade in Cannes were affected by the strike which is targeting strategic points along the highways to cause difficulty for people traveling to events at the advertising festival.
Reports from Cannes have claimed that taxi drivers blockading the airport have been aggressively surrounding cars that attempt to break through the blockade.
Courtney Love tweeted a photo from inside her car, claiming that picketers had attacked it.
Dude @kanyewest we may turn back to the airport and hide out with u.picketers just attacked our car #ParisUberStrike pic.twitter.com/MtanurybOO
— Courtney Love Cobain (@Courtney) June 25, 2015
The strike was planned by the French National Taxi Union which is calling on the French government to take action against Uber which has been expanding its services across the country despite government objections.
Uber is not licenced by authorities and so, unlike regulated taxi drivers, its drivers do not have to pay thousands of euros for a licence. The controversy over licensing has resulted in bans in Germany and Spain which the company is attempting to have overturned.
French taxi drivers have taken issue with the San Francisco based firm which currently has around a million users in France, including 250,000 for its basic UberPOP service.
The nationwide strike has also affected Paris airport and the ring road around the city. The protest in the capital turned violent with overturned cars and buring tires prompting the police force to deploy riot police.
The escalation follows on from around 100 attacks on Uber drivers and passengers in recent weeks.
Uber responded to its bans in Germany and Spain by filing complaints against the two nations