Demonstration by VTC drivers on March 28, 2022 in Paris (AFP / GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT)
A few hundred VTC drivers demonstrated Monday in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Nantes to demand more protection as the rise in the price of gasoline is affecting their income, at the call of the national inter-union VTC (INV), have observed by AFP journalists.
“We want a minimum price, hourly and per kilometer, negotiated between the government and the independents”, underlined Brahim Ben Ali, of the INV. “We have seen a lot of drivers run away from this profession which promised us to be our own bosses”.
“Even if the state helps us with the price of fuel, the platforms will lower the prices to attract customers,” he denounced on the Place de la Nation in Paris.
Some drivers described income halved since the start of the pandemic, with fill-ups of diesel at 120 euros three times a week. Uber, the market leader, is at the center of attacks for the high commissions it charges.
In Bordeaux, the event brought together 80 cars. In Nantes, around fifteen VTC organized a snail operation on the ring road, according to the police. The operation lasted less than an hour and caused 3km of slowdowns according to Bison Futé.
The INV promises to accelerate the movement at the beginning of April with snail operations, in particular at Rungis. Mr. Ben Ali also called on the candidates for the presidential election to position themselves on this issue of platforms.
In Lyon, Place Bellecour, a procession of around thirty cars formed in a cacophony of horns and cries of drivers chanting “Angry VTC!”.
Brahim Ben Ali, representative of the inter-union VTC (INV), March 28, 2022 in Paris (AFP / Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT)
The demonstrators hung posters on their cars which read: “Death at the end of the road” or “respect for the status of independent”.
“We are trying to survive, because the charges are accumulating and we are driving at a loss”, says Ahmed, driver since 2015. “Before, I paid my full 65 euros, today it is 120 euros”, laments this man 44 years old.
“The profession is deteriorating, the platforms are thugs, the fuel is increasing …”, cowardly next to Jean-Cédric, 50, spokesman for the National Intersyndicale VTC (INV). “We can’t hold on, it’s catastrophic”, warns this VTC driver from Lyon for more than seven years, who claims to suffer a loss of 30% of his salary.
For Zakaria H., “the war in Ukraine is an excuse”. This 41-year-old driver, who has worked in this sector since 2019, believes that “the problems were there long before”, in particular “because of the non-respect of the status of VTC driver” who “is supposed to protect us”.
With the approach of professional elections in the sector, the Union-Indépendants (CFDT) union also organized an action: more than 1,500 VTCs ceased all activity for 2 hours on Monday morning, causing an over-price increase in certain cities, particularly in Paris. , according to his representative Fabien Tosolini. The union is demanding in particular the immediate reimbursement of the tax on gasoline (TICPE).
© 2022 AFP
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