Uber’s legal woes in France are only getting worse as two of its executives will now face trial on September 30.
A day after Uber general manager Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty and French operations hrad Thibaud Simphal were arrested, the Paris prosecutor’s office has charged them with “misleading commercial practices” and “complicity in the illegal exercise of the taxi profession,” according the Financial Times. The charges are in response to a complaint filed last year by a local taxi union.
The company’s UberPop service, which lets individuals provide rides to customers with their own car and without the licenses and training taxi drivers are required to take, has been at the center of the controversy. In addition to protests from local taxi drivers, French president François Hollande has declared the service “illegal” and that it creates “unfair competition.”
The Paris prosecutor’s office has fined 202 drivers, with 79 ongoing cases against drivers, and one driver receiving a 15-day suspended prison sentence, according to the Financial Times.
Last week, French taxi drivers staged a protest against the service in Paris, which resulted in significant street traffic. And yet, it seems French customers are downloading Uber’s apps even more now, according to data from AppAnnie.