STRIKE RIOTS IN PARIS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 71, 23 March 1912, Page 12

STRIKE RIOTS IN PARIS

BARRICADES OF OVERTURNED TAXI-CABS. The eti'lke of the chauffeurs of the 'Paris auto-taxis which has been going on for the lost two months was marked .to-day by eerious incidents (says a Paris despatch dated 2nd February). Ever since the strike began there lias been only a small contingent of taxis in Paris,, and these belong to small companies and co-operative societies which have agreed to grant the demands of the chaufteuitt. In the meanwhile the big companies, who own thousands of cars, dismissed all their drivers and engaged young and untrained substitutes, it was announced that over a thousand of these new chauffeurs would start driying their machines in the Paris streets to-day. The principal company concerned was the La Francai6e, whose headquarters and large garages are at Levallois, outside Paris. ■The strikers decided .to oppose by! force the entrance of • the taxis into' Paris. At 8 o'clock this morning there were already eeveral thousand striker* in the vicinity of the garage. In , anticipation of trouble a force of cuytaßSiets^infanwyj.and police hadjjeen <«e>hbHo 'maintain' order. < About thirty' •oars, escdrted by pdlice, left the garage ""and .proceeded towards Paris,, but suddenly the striker* made .a rush' for them, breaking through the cordon of police and "capturing" eight vehicles. They broke the windows of fche cars with' stones and sticks. - The police and soldiers, after a, short fight with the rioters, euoceeded in dis- 1 parsing them. Other taxis were subsequently captured and overturned, a barricade being made of them across the street. A fight with the police followed, in which M. Laurent, chief secretary ot the Prefecture of Police, was struck in the face by a rioter. A second rioter struck him on the head .with a stick. The rioters next threw stones at the Cuiraesiers' horses. ' Before the disturbance was quelled t«n police, three chauffeurs, and two journalist* wore injured.