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Four delivery drivers' associations sue Uber and Deliveroo for human trafficking

A coalition of French delivery worker advocacy groups has filed a criminal complaint against Uber Eats and Deliveroo, accusing them of human trafficking and exploitation. The groups also threaten Uber Eats with a class action lawsuit over alleged discrimination. Both companies deny the allegations.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Apr 24–25, 2026 Published Aug 14

Lead

French advocacy groups representing food delivery workers have filed a criminal complaint against the platforms Deliveroo and Uber Eats, accusing them of "human trafficking." The complaint, lodged Wednesday with the Paris public prosecutor's office, also threatens Uber Eats with a class action lawsuit for alleged discrimination.

Coverage Comparison

The complaint was first reported by RFI and France 24, both of which noted the filing and the key accusations. RFI provided more extensive detail, including the names of the groups involved, the scale of the delivery workforce in France, and a 2025 survey on the demographic profile of workers. France 24's coverage was briefer, focusing on the criminal complaint and the companies' profits. Both outlets used the loaded term "human trafficking" as the central accusation, but RFI's tone was more critical of the platform companies' practices.

Key Claims

The complaint alleges that delivery workers are "completely dependent" on the platforms and "forced to accept any working conditions," as argued by the plaintiffs: the Maison des Livreurs in Bordeaux, the Maison des Coursiers in Paris, and the support groups AMAL and Ciel. According to the complaint, the platforms "make significant profits by exploiting the vulnerability of these workers," as stated by Jonathan L'Utile Chevallier, project coordinator at the Maison des Livreurs in Bordeaux.

The groups also issued a formal notice to Uber Eats to cease "discriminatory practices" or face a class action lawsuit, alleging discrimination based on economic vulnerability and "algorithmic discrimination," according to their lawyer, Thibault Lafocade.

Estimates cited by RFI suggest there are between 70,000 and 100,000 delivery workers in France. A 2025 survey by Médecins du Monde and several research centres, conducted among around a thousand delivery workers, found that nearly all (98.8%) were born abroad and 64% held no residence permit.

Perspectives

Uber Eats said in a statement that it had learned of the complaint through the media and that it "has no basis." Deliveroo said it "strongly contests the allegations" and "firmly rejects any comparison of its business model to exploitation or human trafficking." The companies' statements have been reported by RFI, but no further details of their legal strategy were provided in the available coverage.

How each outlet told it

France 24 — English as of Apr 25, 2026, 5:45 PM UTC

Framing: Brief mention of the complaint amidst other news — Neutral

Facts Included:

Associations that support food delivery workers filed a criminal complaint for 'human trafficking' against Deliveroo and Uber Eats
One of the attorneys accused the companies of making significant profits by exploiting their workers

Read the source article →

RFI — English as of Apr 24, 2026, 9:15 AM UTC

Framing: Advocacy groups accuse food delivery platforms of human trafficking — Critical

Facts Included:

A coalition of French delivery worker advocacy groups filed a criminal complaint against Deliveroo and Uber Eats
The complaint accuses the companies of 'human trafficking'
The groups are also threatening Uber Eats with a class action lawsuit for discrimination
Delivery workers are 'completely dependent' on the platforms and 'forced to accept any working conditions'
There are between 70,000 and 100,000 delivery workers in France
A 2025 survey found that nearly all delivery workers were born abroad and 64% held no residence permit

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimA coalition of French delivery worker advocacy groups has filed a criminal complaint against food delivery platforms Deliveroo and Uber Eats, accusing them of 'human trafficking'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from RFI — English as of Apr 24, 2026, 9:15 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe complaint accuses the companies of making significant profits by exploiting their workers.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from RFI — English as of Apr 24, 2026, 9:15 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimDelivery workers are 'completely dependent' on the platforms and 'forced to accept any working conditions'.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via RFI — English as of Apr 24, 2026, 9:15 AM UTC
ClaimThere are between 70,000 and 100,000 delivery workers in France.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via RFI — English as of Apr 24, 2026, 9:15 AM UTC
ClaimA 2025 survey found that nearly all delivery workers were born abroad and 64% held no residence permit.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via RFI — English as of Apr 24, 2026, 9:15 AM UTC
ClaimThe groups are also threatening Uber Eats with a class action lawsuit for discrimination.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via RFI — English as of Apr 24, 2026, 9:15 AM UTC
ClaimUber Eats said in a statement that it had learned of the complaint through the media, and that it 'has no basis'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via RFI — English as of Apr 24, 2026, 9:15 AM UTC
ClaimDeliveroo said it 'strongly contests the allegations' and 'firmly rejects any comparison of its business model to exploitation or human trafficking'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via RFI — English as of Apr 24, 2026, 9:15 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 2 articles consulted: France 24 — English, RFI — English 8 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14