Taxi strike: Taxi driver representatives met with François Bayrou at the Ministry of Transport on Saturday afternoon to find a solution to the dispute.

The new agreement governing medical transport, which has been mobilizing the inter-union since Monday, will be at the heart of the discussions.

Taxi driver representatives are expected at 5 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, May 24, at the Ministry of Transport, in the presence of François Bayrou, to try to find a solution to the conflict that has been going on for almost a week due to a new agreement governing patient transport. The taxi inter-union launched a mobilization on Monday to protest this project, which provides for a unification of fares, which currently vary from department to department. The drivers have also threatened further blockades if the situation does not change.

The new system will be based on a €13 health insurance fee, followed by a per-kilometer charge. It is designed to discourage empty return trips or excessively long waiting times. This pricing is scheduled to come into effect on October 1st. The goal 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).

Some of the protesters explained that the new pricing structure would cause them to lose a substantial portion of their revenue. Taxi drivers are therefore demanding the withdrawal of the health insurance agreement and the appointment of a mediator, but the government already assured on Friday that it had "no intention of backtracking."

Throughout the week, thousands of taxi drivers demonstrated, participated in slow-moving operations, and staged blockades near train stations and airports to make their voices heard. In Paris, the epicenter of the protests was Boulevard Raspail, not far from the Ministry of Transport, where car horns and fireworks punctuated the week. The climate became tense several times with law enforcement, and four Parisian protesters were prosecuted. Taxi organizations also targeted ride-hailing drivers, who work with platforms like Uber and Bolt, accusing them of unfair competition and irregular practices.