Uber, the application for hailing taxis, was subjected to a police raid of its offices in Paris.
The raid was part of an investigation into the company’s ride-sharing service and was conducted at the behest of the Paris prosecutor’s officer.
The focus of the inquiry is the smartphone application which connects non-professional drivers who have their own cars and passengers who wish to share a lift for a low cost. Contact is made through mobile phones or on a website.
Uber was founded in 2009 in the US and already operates in some 250 cities in 50 countries. Traditional taxi companies have taken fright at the rapidly growing popularity of Uber.
The company called the raid an "attempt at intimidation", pointing out that dozens of non-professional users had been fined since the start of the year.
It added: “Police officers turned up and kept the whole Uber team in custody for an entire day, which we believe was disproportionate especially as the exact reason for the visit still remains unclear.
Uber’s application is technically illegal in France. The company received a €100,000 fine last year, but has appealed it.
It has also lodged two complaints. “One of those complaints is to the Constitutional Court and the other has been sent to the European Commission because we believe this legislation is inconsistent with important principles of European Law.”
Uber believes it will eventually take 400,000 cars off the roads by encouraging people to share lifts.
