Two Uber bosses taken into custody in France

Two top Uber bosses were taken into custody in France Monday as part of a probe into their ride-booking app which has sparked violent protests from regular taxi drivers, the company said. An investigation was opened in 2014 into the UberPOP application which is used to put paying clients in contact with cheaper, non-professional drivers who do not face the same regulations as cabbies. Uber France said in a statement that its director general Thibaud Simphal and director for Western Europe Pierre-Dimitri Gore Coty were being interrogated by police after “spontaneously handing themselves in” to police.

They are not above the law, they must understand that the law applies to everybody.

Alain Griset of the UNT taxi union

Uber has faced rising anger in several countries, particularly in France where a taxi strike last week turned violent as drivers set fire to vehicles and blocked highways, creating a headache for thousands of tourists. In March a raid on Uber’s Paris offices as part of the investigation saw police seize cellphones, computers and documents. UberPOP has been illegal in France since January, but the law has proved difficult to enforce and it continues to operate.

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