Uber shuts down low-cost ride service in France after protests

The ride-hailing app suspended UberPop, which uses unregistered drivers, after riots erupted on June 25.

LONDON — Uber announced Friday that it was suspending its low-cost ride-hailing service in France, a week after hundreds of taxi drivers took to the streets to protest the app.

“[Our drivers] were victims of acts of violence in the past few days,” Thibaud Simphal, the head of Uber France, told Le Monde newspaper. “We want to position ourselves in a spirit of peace and also dialogue with the authorities and show that we take our responsibilities seriously.”

The cheap ride-booking business, called UberPop in France, connects passengers with unregistered drivers, a move that has been met with anger by taxi drivers who must buy an expensive license that can cost up to $270,000 and who say the competition is destroying their livelihood. Other Uber services using professional drivers were not affected by the decision, the company said.

Although ordered closed by French authorities, the company initially said it would not stop operating as it awaited a decision by the country’s top court.

On Friday, Simphal backtracked from that hard-line stance and suggested the company would probably suspend service until the court makes its ruling, expected in September.

The riots that erupted June 25 saw dozens of cars damaged, seven police officials injured and 10 people arrested after an estimated 2,800 taxi drivers took to the streets.