Taxicab violence at the Paris Airport...

Just another day in French aviation...

Police clashed with taxi drivers at the main Paris airport late on Monday and fired rubber flash balls to try to restore order when a routine incident turned violent, French officials said.

The confrontation closed access to terminal 3 at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport for several hours.

"Things got out of hand. Projectiles were thrown at the police, who struck back," Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux told Europe 1 radio.

RTL radio said the fight started when police stopped a taxi driver accused of failing to pay the rent on his vehicle. Other drivers intervened, complaining of harassment.

"The police stop us from smoking, from playing cards and from praying," driver Tarek Moktad told the radio station.