Uber兩名歐洲高管9月底在法國受審

Uber France and two of its top executives in Europe are to stand trial on September 30 on charges of “misleading commercial practices” and “complicity in the illegal exercise of the taxi profession”, the Paris prosecutor’s office has confirmed.

巴黎檢方證實，Uber法國公司及其在歐洲的兩名頂級高管將於9月30日受審，罪名是“誤導商業慣例”和“共謀非法出租車業務”。

The charges come a day after police detained Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber’s general manager in western Europe, and Thibaud Simphal, head of the company’s operations in France, in relation to a complaint filed late last year by one of the country’s taxi unions.

一天前，Uber負責西歐業務的總經理皮埃爾-迪米特里•戈爾-科蒂(Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty)以及該公司在法國的業務主管蒂博•桑法爾(Thibaud Simphal，見上圖)因去年底法國某出租車工會提交的申訴被警方拘留。

The California-based ride-hailing company operates several services in France. But the charges relate to its UberPop service, which allows individuals to offer rides to the public without the standard 250 hours of training.

總部位於加州的這家叫車服務公司在法國運營多項服務。但此案指控涉及UberPop服務，該服務允許個人在沒有經過250小時標準培訓的情況下向公衆提供搭車服務。

The Paris prosecutor’s office described the investigations behind the charges as “numerous and complex”. It did not state the maximum sentences linked to the charges.

巴黎檢方稱，上述指控背後的調查“衆多且複雜”，但沒有透露與這些罪名相關的最高刑期。

The case is the latest twist in a fight between the company and the French government, which has declared some of its activities illegal.

此案是Uber與法國政府之間鬥爭的最新進展，法國政府將Uber的一些活動列爲非法。

François Hollande, French president, declared UberPop’s presence a problem of “unfair competition” last week. His socialist government has also passed a law that in effect declared UberPop illegal. Mr Hollande added that such services needed to be challenged. “Non-compliance with tax and competition rules is illegal. UberPop should be dissolved and branded illegal, and cars should be seized,” he said.

法國總統弗朗索瓦•奧朗德(François Hollande)上週宣佈UberPop的存在帶來“不公平競爭”問題。他領導的社會黨政府還通過了一項法律，實際上將UberPop定性爲非法。奧朗德補充稱，需要對這些服務提出異議。他表示：“不遵守稅務和競爭規則是非法的。UberPop應當被解散，被界定爲非法，相關汽車應當被沒收。”

His comments followed angry protests last week as thousands of taxi drivers across France declared a strike against Uber’s activities in the country.

上週，法國數千名出租車司機舉行罷工，憤怒抗議Uber在法國開展業務活動。