Paris Airport Protest by Rideshare Drivers
Dozens of rideshare drivers rallied at Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport on Sunday, protesting commission rates charged by platforms such as Uber and Bolt and calling for relief from rising fuel costs.
Footage shows protesters heading toward the terminal, arguing with police and non-striking drivers, holding banners reading ‘No surge pricing’ and ‘Stop the lobbying of platforms’ and chanting: ‘Uber thief’. Officers can be seen escorting and monitoring demonstrators throughout.
Drivers Denounce High Commissions and Low Earnings
“There’s no longer any limit on commissions. They go as high as 45 percent. That’s what they say, but in reality, sometimes they go up to 60 percent in commissions,” explained demonstrator Daston.
He added that with a litre of gas costing 2 EUR (2.35 USD), there is ‘no profit margin’ and drivers are ‘being exploited’, working 70 to 80 hours a week for around 3 to 4 EUR (3.5 to 4.7 USD) an hour.
“We pay 10 percent VAT on the 37 EUR. Then there’s a 30 EUR (35.2 USD) difference that Uber took. We pay 20 percent VAT on the amount we didn’t receive. On the 30 EUR, we pay an additional 20 percent VAT,” the protester broke down the commission structure.
Brahim Ben Ali, General Secretary of Workers’ Force Digital Platform Workers by INV, said the situation amounted to modern exploitation.
“Drivers are making 0.50 EUR (0.59 USD) per kilometre, getting taxed 0.50, not even 0.50 EUR, but 50 percent commission, plus, for some, they pay social security contributions, VAT, and so on. Anyway, there’s nothing left. In other words, today it’s slavery, plain and simple,” he stressed.
Workers Share Struggles and Call for Change
Driver KT proclaimed that the situation is “devastating because we’re caught between extremely high commissions on the Uber app and Bolt, which has slightly lower commissions, but their policy is to offer lower prices. So, we’re caught between these two fires, and we can’t get out.”
“I’ve seen a lot of drivers, a lot of colleagues in distress out on the road. In distress because they believed the sweet talk,” he persisted. “Even if you’re sick, even if you’re tired, you’re forced to get behind the wheel just to cover your expenses.”
Broader Pressure on Gig Workers
The protest comes amid a broader squeeze on gig economy workers in France, as rising fuel costs linked to the Middle East conflict push platform drivers to the margins.
