Taxi strike: François Bayrou announces "reworking the details" of the agreement "as of Tuesday"

Prime Minister François Bayrou announced Saturday evening that the new agreement governing patient transport by taxi would be reviewed "as of Tuesday," following a meeting with representatives at the Ministry of Transport. "We will rework in the coming weeks the details of the decisions, measures and directions that need to be taken," he said during a press briefing following the meeting, which was intended to find a solution to the conflict that has been raging for almost a week over the new agreement.

Earlier in the day, François Bayrou said he understood the "emotion" of taxi drivers, who launched a protest movement nearly a week ago. "I take your emotion very seriously. We need to think about it together and take into account the constraints we face," François Bayrou said during a meeting at the Ministry of Transport with taxi federations, according to comments reported by his entourage.

Taxi drivers had previously threatened further blockades, including at Paris airports and Sunday's first round of the Roland Garros tennis tournament, pending the late afternoon meeting. The taxi union had launched a protest on Monday against the agreement, which provides for a standardization of fares, which currently vary from department to department.

In Paris this Saturday, 1,200 taxis were parked on Boulevard Raspail, near the ministry, according to police. Throughout the week, thousands of taxis demonstrated, participated in slow-moving operations, and staged blockades near train stations and airports to make their voices heard. Some taxi organizations also targeted VTC drivers, who work with platforms like Uber and Bolt, accusing them of unfair competition and irregular practices. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, whose mission is to regulate taxis, has also asked law enforcement to increase controls on chauffeur-driven vehicles (VTCs).

During this exchange, the Prime Minister expressed his esteem for taxi drivers, "because they work and they take risks by starting a business." "I hope you can take the time to explain what you feel, so that we can see together if there is a way out of all this. Your situation interests me and I hope we put everything on the table," he added, again quoted by his entourage.

The new system is intended to be based on a €13 charge from health insurance , followed by a mileage rate. It is designed to discourage empty returns or excessively long waiting times. This pricing is due to come into effect on October ^1. The objective is to limit the growth in medical transport spending, which reached €6.74 billion in 2024, including €3.07 billion for licensed taxis (a 45% jump since 2019).

" They have ideas for making savings ," declared François Bayrou this Saturday evening, after he had just met, specifying that future discussions should be carried out " without changing the implementation date " of the text.