Taxi drivers protest in France

By Alimat Aliyeva

Taxi drivers in some French cities are organizing demonstrations against the new requirement of the authorities to simultaneously transport several patients going to doctors and a special procedure for booking such trips, Azernews reports, citing International Media Outlets.

According to the information, they plan to block roads and deliberately slow down traffic on intercity highways in Marseille, Toulouse, Lille, Bayonne, Lyon, Bordeaux and other cities.

In Marseille, 700 protesting drivers joined the action, driving at a reduced speed in the direction of the prefecture and the local social insurance bureau.

The reason for the protest was Article 30 of the new law on financing the social budget, according to which patients wishing to reimburse part of the cost of a taxi ride to a doctor under the insurance will have to book a car through private Internet platforms, which themselves will determine the appropriate taxi company and offer to make a joint trip with other patients.

At the same time, the passenger will be reimbursed a smaller amount for the trip if he refuses to travel in the same car with another patient in the absence of an appropriate certificate from the attending physician and if symptoms of another passenger prevent them from being in the same car.

Currently, the state insurance reimburses 55% of the cost of the trip. The purpose of this measure, as follows from the bill, is to reduce budget expenditures by "encouraging joint trips."

According to the government, joint trips have saved 34 million euros in transportation costs in 2022. However, such trips accounted for only 15% of the total, which is why the authorities are trying to expand this practice.