French protests, strikes disrupt airports, roads, schools

PARIS (Reuters) - French riot police and firefighters intervened to clear a busy Paris ring road at rush-hour on Tuesday after taxi drivers angry about competition from private car ride firms like Uber threw tyres across the roadway and set them alight.

The nationwide protest by licensed taxi drivers coincided with a walkout by air traffic controllers that caused serious disruption to flights in and out of France, and another protest by teachers that disrupted schooling.

Television footage early on a day at one flashpoint in the in western Paris showed a number of protestors dropping tyres from a higher byroad down onto the four-lane Paris ring-road and other burning tyres blocking lanes.

Police arrested some 20 people, mainly in that western Paris incident, a Reuters journalist at the scene said.

In other cities such as Toulouse in the southwest France, taxi drivers said they were prepared to protest for days if necessary in their quest to combat what they say is unfair competition from drivers working for private cab ride services.

A stoppage by state-employed air traffic controllers over working conditions caused cancellation of about one in five flights, according to the DGAC air transport authority. Similarly, schools faced further no-shows from teachers urged by unions to stay away on Tuesday in protest at education reforms.

(reporting by Thierry Chiarello and marine Pennetier; Writing by Brian Love; Editing by Andrew Callus)