PARIS—Angry French taxi drivers have torched tires and snarled highways in recent months while top government officials denounced Uber’s business practices. Police raided the company’s offices in March, seizing computer files, and then took two executives into custody in June.
Now, Thibaud Simphal and Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, the executives, face up to five years in prison and fines of 300,000 euros ($335,000) per charge over allegations of fraudulent commercial activity, operating an illegal taxi service, and maintaining illegal databases containing personal information of both drivers and passengers.
The company is contesting the charges in a trial that began Wednesday, a week after France’s highest constitutional authority upheld a law banning the low-cost UberPop service.
Uber discontinued UberPop and operates other, more expensive services in France, which the company said it considers among its most important markets. And France, like many other countries, is grappling with how to balance ride-hailing services eagerly adopted by consumers against the fears of drivers.
France’s top constitutional authority last week upheld a law written with Uber in mind. Authored by center-left lawmaker Thomas Thevenoud, the legislation takes aim at geolocalization for car services, as well as any casual drivers who want to charge to give someone a ride—the essence of the UberPop service, which allowed nearly anyone with a driver’s license to connect with potential customers.
“We have found, dare I say, a compromise between competition—because competition is necessary—and respect for the rules of the game,” Thevenoud told The Associated Press in his offices, where the wall prominently displays a car-top taxi light.
