Paris taxi strike ends ... for the moment

Paris taxi-drivers called off their week-long strike on Thursday afternooon after the government suspended registration of minicabs for two months. A mediator has been charged with finding a long-term solution to the dispute.  

A Paris taxi Open access/Taxidriving

Taxi-drivers' protests have been causing mayhem in Paris since the beginning of the week. They disrupted traffic at pick-up spots at airports and city-centre squares.

They warned earlier this week that they would go on indefinite strike if their requests were not taken into account.

Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault declared that the suspension of registration would "make possible the drafting over the next two months of new rules for balanced competition, benefiting both professionals and taxi users".

Union leader Nordine Dahmane said the government took a "brave and wise decision".

Regular taxis claim that minicabs known as VTCs are unfair competition because of the lower cost of registration.

The taxi-drivers' union wants the minicabs to be limited to a 30 minute delay between orders and pick-ups.

VTC companies don't seem too bothered by the government decision.

"It is a good thing, if it stays temporary," said the cofounder of one company, Yann Hascoet.