I'm not defending their actions. Its despicable. But theres such a lack of empathy and understanding in this thread. Let me explain to you what its like to be a taxi driver. (This is Information relevant to the US, but to my understanding its much of the same in Paris).
Imagine you want to work a job, but the government tells you that you need a license. Now, this license is impossibly expensive. There is no way you can afford it, so you go to a company that holds these licenses and they rent them out to you. Now youre a taxi driver. You work your ass off to climb through a shitty and unappreciated profession to be able to get the 'good pickups' (Airport, Hotels, ect). All the while the company renting you the license is skimming money off your income.
Now, out of the blue, a company decides that the laws dont apply to their services (Which is debatable, Ill explain why) and anybody who wants to make a quick buck can swoop in, avoid all the hardships, fees, and regulations imposed on you and work the same job as you. All of this despite the fact that the GOVERMENT TOLD YOU THIS WASNT ALLOWED. Despite the fact that you've been fined/impounded/arrested for the same shit that these drivers are now doing. Wouldn't you be pissed off? This is a persons livelihood.
Now to address a couple of the common arguments:
"Free market! Blah blah blah Get with the times!": Uh, no. Taxi services are REGULATED BY THE GOVERNMENT. This isn't a 'someones does your job better than you and youre upset about it. This isnt netflix beating out Blockbuster. It's drivers who were abiding the law for years to make a barely livable wage being undercut by illegal drivers. Drivers getting away with things that have made taxi drivers lives hell for their entire career.
"But they arent breaking any laws! Theyre not stopping for people that are hailing them!": The 'pinging' system is a shitty loophole that many lawmakers believe IS STILL ILLEGAL. Its an ongoing battle (That seems to be siding with the taxi drivers). Ignoring all that, they are still breaking the law. Uber drivers line up at the airport, in lanes reserved for taxi drivers or 'no stopping zones' where they are waiting for someone at the airport to ping them.
"But taxi drivers suck and the system is broken!" That doesnt mean we throw the laws out the fucking window. It means we reform the system LAWFULLY and assure that the people that were abiding OUR LAWS get hurt for doing so. How is that hard to understand?
"Why dont they just drive for uber?" Despite EVERYTHING ELSE IVE JUST SAID, its impossible to make a living wage off uber solely. Deffinately not one that matches a taxi drivers.
Its easy to sit behind your keyboards and tell these drivers to 'fucking deal with it' because youre no affected by it. This isnt your livelihood going down the drain. These people arent crying because theyve been bested. Theyre upset because these people are unlawfully circumventing a system and screwing them over.
Have some fucking empathy. You're all acting like jackasses.