Brussels Lawmaker Faces Assault Allegations from Uber Driver Amid Ride-Hailing Dispute

The events took place in the early evening of Saturday, July 23, in the immediate vicinity of the Monnaie square, in the center of Brussels. The Brussels MP Hicham Talhi informed a driver that he was about to pick up a client he was not authorized to take on due to his license. According to the legislation, holders of an LVC license issued by Flanders or Wallonia are normally not allowed to take on clients in the Brussels Region. "I tapped on the passenger’s window to tell him he couldn’t take on these people," the elected official explains to BX1. "I then went back to my friends with whom I had just ordered a waffle. At that moment, the vehicle driver got out and started filming me."

The Green MP snatches the driver’s smartphone. The rest of the scene is recorded in videos published by La Capitale. "I took his phone because he was filming me, and I put it behind my back. He then took my glasses. He finally gave them back to me and I gave him back his phone. For me, it was a social control. It’s the same when you see two people on the same scooter or someone throwing a cigarette butt on the ground: you report it and you tell these people that it’s not done. I just reminded them of the rules," recounts Hicham Talhi.

After the altercation, the Uber driver says he felt "pain in his little finger," which resulted in a 15-day incapacity to work. He is not about to forgive the elected official. He has made known that he has filed a complaint with the police for intentional violence. Regretting his behavior, Hicham Talhi apologized. "I confronted this driver by reminding him of the legislation he was violating. In this case, my behavior was inappropriate. Certainly, in a state of law, it is up to everyone to respect the legislation, but it is not my role to enforce it. [...] As a deputy, I am bound to a duty of exemplarity which I have clearly failed," the elected official tweeted, assuring that his intention was not aggressive.