Parisian taxis joined forces on Tuesday for the second day of mobilization against a reduction in the price of patient transport, which promises to be lower than the day before, while the Rhône prefecture called on the CRS to “liberate” access traffic around Lyon.
“At the request of the prefectural authority, CRS and police personnel are deployed to free traffic lanes” blocked by taxi drivers, the prefecture wrote in a message on X.
Four blockage points are affected, two north of Lyon towards Paris, one to the south-east towards the Alps and another on the A7 towards the south, it is specified.
On Monday, more than 1,500 taxis in the region participated in blockades around the Lyon metropolitan area, to protest against an agreement currently being negotiated with Health Insurance including lower pricing for the transport of patients, according to the Federation of independent taxis of the Rhône (FTI69).
In Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, blocking operations were also carried out on Monday by taxi drivers, at the entrances to Toulon, at the Bandol tollbooth and at that of Lançon-de-Provence, one of the most important on the A7.
On Tuesday the movement spread to Paris, where around 500 taxis demonstrated in the morning, near the National Assembly, to protest against this negotiation.
Between firecrackers and fireworks, they went to the Esplanade des Invalides and asked to be received by parliamentarians or the Ministry of Health, said Walid Hanida of the Team Taxi collective, at the origin of the demonstration.
On the other hand, in the Lyon region, the mobilization was less on Tuesday morning, even in the opinion of the striking taxi drivers.
“We are much less than yesterday, we cannot afford to strike for a long time, for some of our customers it is vital that they are transported, those who have dialysis, chemotherapy,” declared to the 'AFP Pascal Wilder, a taxi driver for 44 years, installed in front of the Edouard Herriot hospital in Lyon, with a few dozen fellow demonstrators.
– Conditions “not manageable” –
Asked about the sending of CRS, he believes that “given the number” of drivers at the blocking points, “we suspected that the (regional) prefect was not going to let it happen”, believes this activist of the FTI69.
In order to make 300 million euros in savings on this medical transport, the Barnier government, threatened with censorship, wishes to force taxis and medical transporters to negotiate measures with Health Insurance, under penalty of imposed price reductions.
In addition, a decree implementing the Social Security budget for 2024 provides that a patient can no longer refuse, with some exceptions, shared transport, under penalty of having to advance the costs and being reimbursed only on the basis of the shared transportation. Patients must also be treated in less than 45 minutes and by geographic area with a detour kilometer limit per patient.
In 2023, more than 40,000 taxis were approved to transport sick people suffering from pathologies ranging from cancer to psychiatric illnesses, according to Health Insurance, or almost three quarters of taxis in France.
If the new conditions come into force, Eric, a taxi driver in western Lyon, who makes half of his turnover from medical transport, estimates that his business would no longer be profitable.
“They (the government) will be forced to make concessions, huge margins will be lost, otherwise they will end up with patients who will remain without transport, it will not be manageable,” worries – he said, in front of Edouard Herriot hospital.
“Healthcare is what keeps us alive,” says Emmanuel, 49, a taxi driver in Ain, for whom this type of transport represents 90% of his turnover.
