Disturbances are expected this Monday morning on the road, in Lyon, Marseille or Niort. Taxi snail operations have been announced to protest against the proposed new Health Insurance convention, which is due to come into force in January 2025. It notably reduces patient transport prices.
Abdel Grine, president of the Federation of Independent Taxis of the Rhône (FTI69) contacted by AFP, denounces pricing “very significantly downward review” and an obligation to do “shared taxi”. “The service is the transport of seated patients, with whom we taxi drivers all have a special bond”explained Abdel Grine. “The service will be deteriorated” if these conditions are applied. “It’s more a movement for patients than for the taxi itself.”
In Bouches-du-Rhône
In Bouches-du-Rhône, “several taxi gatherings are planned for Monday from 6 a.m.”according to the department prefecture. The demonstrators plan to meet near the Valentine, Grand Littoral and Plan de Campagne shopping centers “to then reach the Lançon-de-Provence toll”on the A7 motorway. Disruptions are expected “in both directions of traffic”.
The Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture specifies that the convoy departing from Plan de Campagne “from 8 a.m., will join the A7 at Vitrolles via Pennes-Mirabeau”. The one at the start of “The Valentine, from 7 a.m., will return to the A50 towards Marseille, then the L2 ring road and the A7 towards the Lançon toll.” Finally, the one “from Grand Littoral, from 7 a.m., will take the A55 towards Vitrolles, then the A7 towards Lyon”.
The prefect of the department “invites users to anticipate or postpone their trips, to avoid the sectors indicated above and to remain cautious when approaching congestion points”.
In Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Taxis from Puy-de-Dôme, Haute-Loire, Loire, Isère, Ain, Ardèche, Drôme and Rhône intend to block access to the city of Lyon and its hospitals on Monday morning, learned France Bleu Saint-Etienne Loire with the Loire Taxi Trade Union, Benoît Galliou and with the president of the FNAT (National Federation of Taxi Craftsmen) in Haute-Loire. The blockages will begin in the early morningaround “5 a.m.” at several access points in the Lyon metropolitan area, or even from 4 a.m. for taxi convoys coming from neighboring departments.
The Rhône prefecture warns the organizers of these actions: “No lasting blockage will be accepted”. Moreover, “at least one traffic lane must be systematically” left free and “no action to filter access to hospitals will be tolerated by state services”. The prefect of Rhône warns that the police will intervene in the event of “non-compliance with these commitments made by the organizers”. She calls motorists “to postpone their trips, to take public transport or to telework”.
In Isèrefilter dams are announced at the tolls of Saint-Quentin Fallavier on the A43 motorway and Reventin-Vaugris on the A7. The Isère prefecture advises avoiding these areas on Monday morning. The demonstrators will then continue their journey with the objective of blocking the entrances to Lyon.
In New Aquitaine
Actions are also planned in Deux-Sèvres. Around fifty taxi drivers plan to participate this Monday morning, announces Alexis Ferrier, president of the Union of taxi artisans of Deux-Sèvres, to France Bleu Poitou. They specify that the demonstrators intend to go to Thouars around 8 a.m., to Parthenay around 8:30 a.m., to Niort around 10:30 a.m. (the procession of vehicles must stop in front of the CPAM premises). They also plan to carry out a snail operation at the Bessines roundabout.
Demonstrations have increased in recent days
This Friday, a demonstration took place in Marseille. A hundred taxis had gathered in the morning in front of the CPAM in Marseille. A mobilization at the last moment, when they learned that the director of the national CPAM, Thomas Fatôme, was on site. Last Tuesday was in Toulouse what taxis demonstrated. Same thing at Le Mans, in Brest, in Limoges. Last Monday, hundreds of taxis had participated in snail operations on the A4 and A6 in Île-de-France, causing significant slowdowns.
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