“It’s just the beginning of the war”: VTCs mobilized at Roissy airport before operations in Île-de-France

Anger is brewing again among VTC drivers. A year after their mobilization on the Paris ring road, in December 2023, to protest against their working conditions during the Olympics, a new snail operation is underway this Tuesday morning. Several hundred VTCs converged towards Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport.

Angry, professionals intend in particular to denounce the increase in platform commission which, according to a new platform pricing system, would increase from 25 to 45%. “Prices continue to fall,” regretted Brahim Ben Ali, one of the union leaders of VTC drivers, this Tuesday morning at BFMTV. The dialogue is broken with these platforms which persist in telling us that there is a totem of immunity, it is remuneration: hands off! And on the other hand, they keep increasing their commission. »

On his social networks, the union activist, former LFI candidate on the Popular Union list led by Manon Aubry in the last European elections, believes that “Uber behaves like a real mafia”. “This contempt for the working conditions of drivers is unacceptable,” he further deplores. Mobilization actions are therefore planned, with a future impact on travel. Our apologies for the inconvenience, but we must defend our profession. »

This Tuesday morning, still on the microphone of BFMTV, Brahim Ben Ali assures that there will be “a black Tuesday and a black Wednesday, every week”, calling on drivers to mobilize on Wednesday at the Rungis market (Val-de-Marne ). “This is just the beginning of the war,” he warns in a video posted by him on the social network X.

Will the snail operation reach the Paris ring road in the morning? In the immediate future, it is difficult to know the route of the VTC drivers this Tuesday morning following their mobilization at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport. “The program is to go on an operation to show our dissatisfaction and go at least to Uber’s head office,” eluded the VTC spokesperson. The activist is thus targeting the headquarters of the platform installed on rue Charlot, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris as well as an antenna located in Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis).

The capital's drivers are not the only ones to be mobilized against this pricing reform desired by the platforms. In Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), several dozen VTC drivers participated last week in mobilization days to oppose the fares imposed by the reservation platforms, deeming them insufficient.