Taxis v. Uber in Paris: technology, capital, and the sharing economy

Abstract

ABSTRACT Uber came to Paris late in 2011, bringing with them a widely accepted narrative of their necessary ‘disruption’ of a stagnant taxi industry. They presented themselves as part of the ‘Sharing Economy,’ with ‘driver/partners’ rather than employees, taking a share of the profits of each trip but acknowledging no obligations beyond the use of their app. Uber broke French law, evaded taxes, and engaged in unfair competitive practices. Uber is one example of the gig economy, based on the digital platform, which has transformed the working lives of people throughout the globe, imposing on them – as many labor historians have noted – a form of work akin to the sweated piecework labor of the nineteenth century. The government of Socialist President François Hollande (2012–2017) managed to preserve a lane for taxis. His term, however, was bracketed by the conservative and deregulatory presidencies of Nicolas Sarkozy (2007–2012) and of Emmanuel Macron (2017–), who created a legal space for Uber and other platforms. Taxis survived. As this article will show, however, working conditions and the French social model have been undermined.