Uber protests snarl traffic in Paris, Madrid

Uber Technologies Inc., the ride-service company that's rankling cabbies across the U.S., is fighting its biggest protest yet from European drivers who say the smartphone application threatens their livelihoods. While similar demonstrations this year have led to smashed windshields and traffic chaos in Paris, a united front in Europe highlights the challenges for Uber's expansion after a funding round that values the company at $17 billion, almost five times the figure in an earlier round. About 1,200 Parisian drivers were blocking the Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports Wednesday morning and preventing private car services from picking up passengers, said Nadine Annet, vice president at the FNAT taxi association in France. In Madrid, thousands of drivers marched to block the Paseo de la Castellana, one of the city's main central avenues, as police escorted the demonstration by cars, a helicopter and officers on foot. Between 10,000 and 12,000 black cabs and private hire cars were expected to descend on the tourist hubs of Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square, said Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association.