Days after taxi union protests, French authorities take Uber execs into custody [Updated]

On Monday, French authorities took two Uber executives into custody for questioning as part of an investigation into UberPop, the startup’s lower cost alternative.

Local media have named the men as Thibaut Simphal, the CEO for France, and Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, the CEO for Western Europe. Under French law, both men can be held for up to 48 hours without being charged.

"Our general managers for France and Western Europe today attended a hearing with the French police," Gareth Mead, an Uber spokesman, told Ars in a statement. "We are always happy to answer questions the authorities have about our service—and look forward to resolving these issues. Those discussions are ongoing. In the meantime, we’re continuing to ensure the safety of our riders and drivers in France given last week's disturbances."

Uber has been in the public eye recently after two days of violent protests across France by taxi drivers and their unions. Last week, President François Hollande even declared the company’s operations to be dissolved (Google Translate), while Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve brought criminal charges (Google Translate) against the ride-sharing company.

The primary regulatory issue in France is that UberPop’s drivers operate under a VTC license (véhicules de tourisme avec chauffeur, or tourism vehicles with a driver). Created in 2009, this license was designed for pre-booked travel, not on-the-street hails. UberPop’s drivers are like their UberX counterparts in the United States: normal people with regular cars who do not have an expensive French taxi license. As such, traditional taxi drivers in France have been upset that Uber seems to be flouting the law. Uber maintains that it is a technology company and not a traditional taxi company, and therefore the company believes it's not bound by taxi law.

On Saturday, the Paris police department announced (French) it would dispatch 200 additional officers to enforce taxi regulations.

Beyond the recent protests, Uber has also been under scrutiny in France for possibly being in violation of the country's 1978 data protection law. According to Le Monde (Google Translate), the data collected on Uber’s customers should be declared to the French data protection authority, but Uber has reportedly not done that.

The Paris prosecutor’s office did not immediately responded to Ars’ request for comment.

UPDATE Tuesday 11:21am CT: The Associated Press and French media are reporting that the two men are now scheduled to stand trial in France. Simphal and Gore-Coty are set to appear before a French judge on September 30.