Uber Ride-Sharing Service Fined EUR 100,000 By French Court

A Paris court fined the French subsidiary of U.S. app-based ride service Uber 100,000 euros ($128,000) on Thursday for fraudulent business practices after it advertised its paid transportation service UberPop as a car pool.

UberPop, which the private company launched about a year ago in Paris, links private drivers with passengers. Called a "ride-sharing solution" by Uber, the service is now available in five other French cities.

The court ordered that Uber post Thursday's ruling on its websites.

The San Francisco start-up said in a statement it would continue to operate UberPop while it appeals parts of the decision.

"This decision does not call into question the service," Uber France CEO Thibaud Simphal told Reuters. "They just have to set the conditions in which we can do it."

Courts in Germany have banned UberPop and the company's low-cost limousine pick-up service UberBlack, saying their drivers do not comply with German law for the commercial transport of passengers.

Uber, which is available in 43 countries and was recently valued at $18 billion, has faced disputes with taxi operators and regulatory issues in many cities where it operates, including in San Francisco.

Taxi drivers in Paris blocked traffic into the city centre in a protest against Uber in June, action duplicated in London, Berlin and Madrid.

© Thomson Reuters 2014