PARIS—Uber Technologies Inc. plans to suspend one of its main
services in France, days after French prosecutors indicted two top
Uber executives on charges of running that service illegally.
Uber said it would suspend the service called Uberpop
immediately, while awaiting a court decision due in September on
the constitutionality of a new French law that criminalizes running
such a system.
The company said it made the decision to suspend the service in
response to violence against Uber drivers during a series of
protests by taxis against Uberpop last week.
Previously Uber had said it would continue to operate Uberpop
until a court ordered it to stop.
"Today is a black day for the 500,000 regular users of Uberpop
in France, as well as for the drivers that regularly use the
platform," Uber said.
Uberpop uses drivers without professional licenses, rather than
licensed taxis or car services, allowing it to offer lower prices.
Under a new law passed last autumn, operating such a system is
punishable with a fine of as much as €300,000 (around $332,000) and
two years in prison.
French prosecutors on Tuesday ordered Uber executives
Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty and Thibaud Simphal to appear before
magistrates on Sept. 30 to face charges of breaking that law, of
deceptive commercial practices, and illicit storage of personal
data. Uber as a company is also being charged.
Write to Sam Schechner at sam.schechner@wsj.com
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