French cabbies blockade airport as Cannes Film Festival opens

Angry taxi drivers have blockaded Cote d'Azur airport in Nice as Cannes festival opens.

The French cabbies are in dispute with authorities over online ride-hailing apps.

The blockade caused traffic chaos around the airport for hours, and left one taxi driver injured.

The injured female cabbie waa knocked down by a driver working on a ride-haling app according to France 24. She was taken to hospital but suffered no major injury. The cabbie is, however filing charges against the other driver after being left heavily bruised.

Tensions have been rising between taxi drivers and those working ride-hailing apps ahead of the film festival which runs from May 14 until May 26

Head of the Nice taxi drivers union, Fabrice Cavallera stated that another strike will take place on Friday, unless authorities impose restrictions on ride-hailing apps operating in the region.

Cabbies have been faced with a series of compliance checks which they claim have not been applied to  private hire drivers.

The protest has left some travellers having to walk to the airport to avoid missing their flight. 

Image Source: Wikimedia

Image Author: M Strikis