Protesting chauffeurs disrupt access to Paris airport

PARIS (AP) - Protesting chauffeurs have moved to Paris' city center after having disrupted access to the Charles de Gaulle airport for a few hours, amid tensions between traditional taxis and app-based car services as the government loosens regulations in the evolving sector.

Taxi drivers and chauffeurs pelted each other with projectiles overnight at the Porte Maillot interchange in western Paris, according to Paris police. No one was injured or arrested.

On Friday morning, chauffeurs began blocking the main road into Charles de Gaulle with about 50 cars, and the airport authority warned passengers to take the commuter train instead.

The chauffeurs then moved to the Place de la Nation, in eastern Paris, to continue their protest.

Recent weeks have seen protests both by taxi drivers, who complain of unfair competition from services such as Uber, and rival chauffeurs, who say they're victims of discrimination by the government.

Uber says it is not directly involved in the chauffeurs' protest, but supports the drivers. Uber and other car services gathered 150,000 letters of support from customers that they submitted to the prime minister's office this week.