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PARIS — Irate taxi drivers blocked roads, burned tires and attacked drivers who they thought were working for Uber, the low cost ride-hailing company, during a day of protests Thursday that disrupted Paris and slowed traffic at the airports to a crawl.
Fights broke out on streets, a couple of cars were burned and there were frustrated travelers all over Paris, as well as in major cities elsewhere inFrance that also awoke to find the labor battle on their streets.
With arrests and fights still breaking out in several areas of Paris in the early evening, including at the transport hub at Porte Maillot, many Parisians were scrolling on their smartphones to try to figure out alternative routes home.
The taxi drivers’ energy for the fight appeared unabated on a day that was one of the hottest here in recent weeks and that for many of the protesters started in the early-morning hours. Their unions threatened to extend the stoppage for another day.
“We are against the government,” said Nader Moghimi, 49, who has driven a taxi for nine years in Paris. “Their role is to protect us. If Uber is doing some economic terrorism, the government has to react.”
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