"Many professional drivers have been protesting in recent days -- their fears are understandable -- and they have asked us for support. As many as 10,000 families face financial uncertainty after the job they'd been doing was taken away from them," an Uber representative told The Local. The company was referring to past agreements made by a private driver group that the French government now wants to rip up. "Mr. Valls Guillotined us," said a spokesman, referring to French Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

Certaines plateformes numériques veulent imposer leur monde sans règle à la République, la République sera toujours plus forte. — L Grandguillaume (@LGRANDGUILLAUME) January 30, 2016

Taxi drivers staged their own protest late last month, which was followed by a "funeral march" of Uber vehicles on February 3rd. The driver group, which said Uber and other apps provide up to 70 percent of its business, wants to stop new regulations that could further hamper its chauffeurs. French mediator Laurent Grandguillaume is trying to decide which new rules, if any, the government will impose on the apps. However, he recently tweeted that "some digital platforms want to impose their world without regard to the law, but the Republic will always be stronger." As a result, many critics think he's already made up his mind in favor of taxis.