US singer Courtney Love has called on the US to ban all travel to France after she was caught up in violent anti-Uber protests in Paris on Thursday.
The Hole frontwoman was beseiged at the airport by a “mob of taxi drivers” before making her escape on the back of a motorcycle.
The singer tweeted several colourful comments on Thursday claiming she had been ambushed and held hostage.
The United States needs to ban all travel to France! #UberPop pic.twitter.com/MEUhkBBqTW
— Courtney Love Cobain (@Courtney) June 26, 2015we got out after being held hostage for an hour thanks to these two guys. I'm scared out of my wits.… https://t.co/cAOELz463U
— Courtney Love Cobain (@Courtney) June 25, 2015paid some guys on motorcycles to sneak us out, got chased by a mob of taxi drivers who threw rocks, passed two police and they did nothing
— Courtney Love Cobain (@Courtney) June 25, 2015they've ambushed our car and are holding our driver hostage. they're beating the cars with metal bats. this is France?? I'm safer in Baghdad
— Courtney Love Cobain (@Courtney) June 25, 2015“Dude @kanyewest we may turn back to the airport and hide out with u.picketers just attacked our car #ParisUberStrike,” she wrote on Twitter.
Love, who recently toured with fellow US artist Lana Del Rey, wrote "They've ambushed our car and are holding our driver hostage."
Demonstrations were held across France on Thursday by taxi drivers who blockaded major transport hubs in protest against the US online ridesharing service.
Driving a taxi requires buying a licence that can cost in excess of €100,000 in Paris but there is no such obligation for Uber drivers.
Striking taxi drivers overturned cars, tied up traffic and blocked train stations and airports to object to what they say is unfair competition.
Calling on French president François Hollande to intervene, the singer asked “François Hollande where are the fucking police??? is it legal for your people to attack visitors? Get your ass to the airport. Wtf???”
Mr Hollande did intervene but possibly not in the way Love expected he would.
"UberPop must be dismantled and made illegal," Mr Hollande said at a press conference in Brussels during the European Council summit.
“And cars will have to be seized. But we live by the rule of law and the state won’t seize the cars itself, it must be authorized to do so by a court decision.”
Love eventually managed to escape the protests after she paid two motorcyclists to “sneak” her out but not before she was chased by “a mob of taxi drivers.”
While Love’s experience was undoubtedly traumatic her latest tweet - a call on the US to ban all travel to France - might be seen as a step too far.
One wonders how such a move would go down at the EU summit this weekend.
