For months, it seemed as if taxi unions and regulations would pose the biggest threat to Uber's expansion in France. Widespread protests crippled major cities earlier this year, and a recent court ruling forced Uber to shutter its UberPop low-cost service. Now, the ride-hailing company is facing resistance from a more unlikely source: its own Parisian chauffeurs.

Frustrated with Uber's recent decision to cut fares across Paris, some drivers have staged protests, formed unions, and even created their own competing services. Last month, a group of Uber chauffeurs launched their own Uber-like smartphone app, which they hope will lure drivers away from the American platform and ultimately give them greater control over their business. Its founder envisions it as a "Made in France" alternative to Uber's American hegemony, though there are questions over its viability, and gaining traction among consumers will certainly be a challenge.

The app, called VTC Cab, launched on the Google Play store in November, and on iTunes last week. (VTC is a French acronym for private chauffeur services that are not affiliated with taxi companies.) The geolocalized app offers the same basic services as Uber; users can hail black cars, rate their drivers, and drink free bottled water. Unlike Uber, VTC Cab also allows users to order rides in advance and, crucially, does not collect commissions from its drivers, operating instead as a nonprofit association with a membership fee.

"We want to re-establish and regain our rights over Uber."

The app's founder, Mohammed Radi, says the aim is to provide a way for Uber drivers to do business on their terms. "We want to re-establish and regain our rights over Uber," says Radi, who serves as secretary general of Association des VTC de France, the drivers group that launched the app. "Uber is not representative of our community... They are a technology company which has no connection with the world of transportation. So they treat human beings like a number — you know, like a figure on a computer. And being a number, as a driver, it's a very bad feeling."

Whereas Uber takes a 20 percent commission for every trip in Paris, VTC Cab charges its drivers a monthly fee of €250, and allows them to keep all of what they earn. Radi says the fee will go toward maintaining the app and staffing the association. Radi adds that VTC Cab will offer a customer service phone line that users can call, rather than Uber's email-based system.

"Our interest is not in taking money from [a chauffeur] based on his turnover," he says, noting that the syndicate has not taken "a dime" from outside investors. "We run a nonprofit organization, which means we are not here to make money off the work of our drivers." He says it costs more than $200,000 a year to maintain the app, which was developed by Multi Brains LLC, and his organization has begun buying ads on Google and Facebook.

Radi says 1,500 drivers across Paris have already signed up for the service (chauffeurs can use it for the first month free of charge), and he aims to have 5,000 in his network by the beginning of 2016. He acknowledges that drivers will likely continue driving for both Uber and VTC Cab for the first few months, though he hopes that they'll migrate over to his service over time, draining Uber's fleet of 10,000 Parisian drivers. That, he says, will lead to longer wait times and surge pricing for Uber users, hopefully convincing customers to switch to VTC Cab.

"I wish them success, but I would not bet on them."

The promise of zero-commissions may be enticing to some disgruntled Uber drivers, though it's not clear whether customers will follow. The service will charge passengers at the same rate that Uber charged prior to slashing its fares in Paris last month: €1.40 per kilometer with an €8 minimum ride. Last month, Uber lowered its fare in Paris by 20 percent — a decision that sparked small protests outside its headquarters — and set minimum rides at €5. So far, only between 500 and 1,000 Android users have downloaded VTC Cab, according to its Google Play page.

Radi says the app's more personalized service and "Made in France" branding will eventually bring clients to his platform. He notes that users can choose their own chauffeurs and develop closer relationships with them over time. And he says customer service will be "even better" than what Uber offers.

But others aren't so confident. Uber continues to dominate the ride-hailing industry in France, with around 1.3 million users, and the market has become increasingly crowded with competing apps from both VTC companies and taxi services. Even the city of Paris launched its own taxi app in October. Experts say that carving out a space for VTC Cab will be a daunting challenge.

"Building a good app, gaining clients and drivers takes time and lots of money," says Théodore Monzies, founder of the Paris startup Eurecab, a price comparison and ride-booking site for car services in France. "I wish them success, but I would not bet on them."

Uber, for its part, doesn't seem overly concerned about the prospect of a driver mutiny. Uber France spokesperson Thomas Meister describes the disgruntled chauffeurs as "a very small minority," adding that drivers have actually increased their hourly revenue since last month's fare reduction. Ultimately, he says, consumers will determine the fate of Uber and its competitors.

"we welcome competition, wherever it is."

"It's what we've always said — we welcome competition, wherever it is, even if it's against us," Meister said in an interview prior to the launch of VTC Cab on Android. "Plus, drivers are absolutely free to drive for whoever they want, and they are always using that freedom... So if they launch their own application then fine, great."

There have been signs of growing discontent among Uber drivers since the company announced its fare cut, prompting some to unionize in a bid to gain greater negotiating power. Sayah Baaroun, secretary general of the chauffeur union SCP-VTC, told French media last month that Uber and competing ride-sharing apps like Le Cab are "waging a price war" that drivers have no voice in. Baaroun accused Uber of maintaining a "disguised wage system" and making "bogus" promises of independence to its drivers. SCP-VTC is one of two chauffeur unions that have been formed following Uber's price cut.

"Uber came into the market and just destroyed our market," Radi says. "The market was very stable in France, with very fair prices and pricing. And they came and they changed the whole world, basically."

"If we have some type of organization, then we can be more powerful."

Uber drivers I spoke with had mixed reactions to VTC Cab. One, who asked that he not be cited in this article, said he was frustrated with Uber's price cut, but was reluctant to pay €250 a month without an established customer base. Another, Sofiane, was only vaguely familiar with the app. When I explained how it worked, he seemed intrigued.

Sofiane says he's had to work longer hours to make the same money since Uber's price cut, and he's encouraged to see chauffeurs forming unions. "Today, we are like raindrops — when it rains we're all dispersed and scattered," he explains. "But if it rains into a bucket, if we have some type of organization, then we can be more powerful."

Radi thinks VTC Cab's model could be adopted beyond Paris, and he says he's eager to develop partnerships in the US. Labor unions aren't nearly as entrenched in the US as they are in France, though there are signs that its workforce of independent drivers may become more organized. A proposed law in Seattle would make it the first American city to allow Uber drivers to unionize, and an upcoming trial in California could force Uber to treat its drivers as employees, rather than independent contractors.

"I know they're not socialists in the US, so maybe they won't understand what we're doing," Radi says. "But I guess with more education on this subject, and if we have the chance to communicate with leaders of the transportation industry in the US, then I'm sure we can create something really cool for everybody."

"It's going to take a long time — maybe one year, two, three — but it's going to happen."

A few days after VTC Cab launched, I used it to take a 15-minute ride across Paris. The app isn't quite as intuitive as Uber's, and not nearly as seamless. It took a few minutes longer for the driver to arrive, it's not possible to link your credit card to the app, and the geolocation wasn't as precise, but it worked nonetheless. My driver was a 33-year-old named Abdallah Lotfi Heouamel, and I was his first client on the new app.

Heouamel says he signed up for VTC Cab after hearing about it through Facebook and WhatsApp. He's been driving for Uber for about seven months now, and says he now has to work "four to five" extra hours per day to compensate for the fare cut. In VTC Cab, he sees an opportunity for chauffeurs to work on their own terms.

"They don't have the right to do what they did — cutting the prices without consulting us," Heouamel says of Uber. "It doesn't work like that in France. We're in a country where workers' rights are protected, a country that protects human rights."

He acknowledges it's "not going to be easy" to take on a company as dominant and well-financed as Uber, and he'll continue working for both services in the short term. But he says he's committed to VTC Cab, and looks forward to the day when he can turn off his Uber app for good.

"This is all very new for us. In the past, we have not been well organized," Heouamel says. "But it's changing now. It's going to take a long time — maybe one year, two, three — but it's going to happen."