Uber Technologies Inc. has temporarily suspended its UberPop service in France, following mass protests from taxi drivers there who insist the service is against the law.

After a week of sometimes violent protests by regular taxi drivers, Uber announced the suspension of its UberPop service last Friday, adding that it had done so to protect passengers and drivers, and that the app will be removed from user’s phones.

“In recent weeks intimidation and violent aggression by an out-of-control minority, where drivers and users of UberPop were ambushed, has increased in France. Uber does not want to put drivers or passengers at risk, so for the sake of peace has decided to suspend Uberpop,” the company said in a statement.

UberPop is similar to Uber X in the U.S. in that it allows people to grab rides from unlicensed drivers. The app has been disrupting the transport industry all over the world, but few cities have reacted as angrily as Paris, where taxi drivers have taken to blocking highways and airports with burning tires in protest at the company. There were also some incidents of attacks on Uber vehicles, with some drivers and passengers reportedly hurt.

France’s taxi drivers are angry at Uber because they say it breaches a law banning unlicensed drivers from picking up passengers that was introduced last January.

Uber has a history of acting in what can be described as an arrogant fashion, and in France it was no different. The company decided to ignore the new law and continue operating its services regardless. However, the company says it’s now suspending its services as it waits for its case to reach France’s Constitutional Court on September 30.

Interestingly, there’s a decent chance the Constitutional Court could rule in Uber’s favor. Last month in the city of Lille, a French Uber driver was acquitted after being charged under the new law, after the court found that Uber isn’t an illegal taxi service as defined under French law.

Despite this setback, French authorities went out and arrested two of Uber’s most senior French executives last Monday, on suspicion of inciting people to work without paying the necessary social security charges on their income.

In its statement, Uber said it wanted to show its appreciation to the “thousands of men and women from Lille to Marseille, via Paris, Bordeaux or Lyon who participated with enthusiasm in the urban transport revolution,” adding that it hopes to be up and running again soon.

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