Taxi snail operations started this Monday in several cities in France. These protests come on the heels of the farmers’ actions, even if they are not related.
Several hundred taxis from Nouvelle-Aquitaine were heading this Monday around 8:30 a.m., towards the Bordeaux ring road, a nerve center between Paris and Spain. At the end of their snail operation on Monday, the taxis planned to gather in front of the Gironde prefecture, in the center of Bordeaux. The prefect advised users of the ring road to “favor teleworking and limit travel” on Monday. A similar demonstration is planned in Marseille, while rallies are planned around train stations in Lyon. In Toulouse, taxis converged very early this Monday towards Blagnac airport and are planning a snail operation on the ring road. Several large cities in France should be affected, from Nice to Toulon, via Nîmes and Cannes.
Agreement deemed unfavorable
At the call of four national organizations, the demonstrators are demanding a renegotiation of the conditions of remuneration for patient transport, while the National Health Insurance Fund (Cnam) has put on the table an agreement deemed unfavorable by the unions, who demanded a status quo.
Taxis fear that the new conditions will force them to take additional discounts on their rates for medical transportation, while forcing them to carpool patients. “We will not give up, we will go all the way to get back on good foundations” with the Cnam, declared Éric Roulière-Laumonier, president of the STBMG.
Medical transport represented reimbursements of nearly 5.5 billion euros in 2022
Taxi demonstrations had already taken place throughout France on December 11 to protest against the new Social Security finance law, which pools the journeys of medical patients.
Medical transport represented reimbursements of nearly 5.5 billion euros in 2022, and 65 million trips were made over the year for taxis and light medical vehicles (VSL) alone, according to the authors of the text of the law. Nearly 15% of journeys are already shared.
The idea is to reduce the cost of travel for Social Security by 100 million euros per year between 2025 and 2027, as well as pollution.