The taxi drivers across France rallied this Monday, January 29. The goal was to confront the government regarding the new agreement established by the health insurance on medical transport. In Nice, several hundred gathered to block the prefecture. A meeting between the unions and the authorities was scheduled for early afternoon.
200 to 300 taxis mobilized this morning in front of the Nice prefecture. They expressed their anger towards the imposed measures. The unions were heard by local authority representatives in the early afternoon.
Just after the noise from the tractors had calmed down, France found itself in turmoil once again. This time under the honking of taxis. On January 29, 2024, taxi drivers massed together to oppose changes in pricing concerning the reimbursement of patient transport costs. These prices, imposed by the National Health Insurance Fund, threaten to significantly impact the taxi drivers’ revenue.
According to the unions, between 200 and 300 taxis gathered early this morning. Driving slowly, they took the A8 motorway towards Italy before meeting in front of the Cadam, (the administrative center of the Alpes-Maritimes) in the west of the city.
A showdown with the CNAM on the imposed rates
The National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM) justified the rate changes by the necessity of making savings. A decision strongly opposed by the taxi drivers. The unions highlight a previously imposed 20% discount, which can now go up to 75%. Vincent, a representative of the Cannes taxis, criticizes this policy of the CNAM.
Starting February 1, 2024, the new health insurance agreement, including new rates, is set to come into effect. However, its conditions are still unknown. Stéphane, a taxi driver, expresses his dissatisfaction with this commitment: “They ask us to sign something without knowing all the details. The CPAM asks for our adherence before having established the rates.”
Renewed every 5 years, taxi drivers must sign this new agreement by January 31, or they risk losing their accreditation. A significant financial loss for most taxis. “Without medical clients, unless you have a vast network, without medical clients, you can’t work,” he laments.
“An empty shell”: unions criticize the new agreement
Patricia, president of the taxi union in the 06 area, expects this meeting to ensure the prefect quickly escalates the information upwards. “Here, we’re mobilized, being patient, waiting for national representatives to be received by the Ministry of Health, and then we’ll see. But the movement may become much tougher in the coming days.”
The unions criticize decisions made “hastily” and vague announcements surrounding the new agreement. “That is our concern. Why are we being rushed?” Patricia laments. Vincent also doesn’t understand these decisions: “An agreement is signed for 5 years. We had plenty of time to discuss it beforehand, and now we’re forced to sign an empty shell. They want us to sign a blank check without even knowing what’s inside.”
In Grenoble, Nantes, and the Paris region, taxi drivers launched “go-slow operations” on various French highways. The movement seriously disrupted road traffic all day. This national-scale taxi protest added to the farmers’ protests that began last week. Following this meeting, the unions eventually won a victory with the extension of the agreement signing deadline to the end of February.
