Burning cars, acid attacks, and brawls: a taxi war has broken out in Spain. With app-based service providers such as Uber and its Spanish competitor Cabify shaking up the taxi market, taxi driver associations like Elite Taxi are now up in arms: thousands have taken to the street in noisy demonstrations, and a legal complaint has been filed at the European Court of Justice.

It’s all about the future of the industry: Is it really okay for supposed “shared economy” businesses like Uber to simply ignore established rules and safety regulations, burn billions in venture capital, and push the traditional taxi business from the market – and all the while hardly paying any taxes on their profits? Or are Uber and Cabify right when they say that the “mafia-like” taxi business, with its opaque licensing system, could well use some liberalization?

Arte Re: meets with angry taxi activists and frightened Uber drivers on the streets of Madrid and Barcelona.