French opposition lawmakers on Monday condemned reports of a “secret deal” between French President Emmanuel Macron, when he was minister in the socialist government of Francois Hollande, and ride-hailing giant Uber, calling what happened “theft of the country.”
Allegations of the deal were revealed in the latest investigation by leading international news organizations based on leaked files known as the #UberFiles on social media.
The Uber Files investigation is based on thousands of internal Uber documents sent to The Guardian by an anonymous source and obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
ICIJ works with 42 media partners around the world on this issue.
The French newspaper Le Monde, in turn, pointed out the connection of this American company with Macron when he was the Minister of Economy.
Citing documents, text messages and witnesses, a report by Le Monde newspaper suggests that Uber struck a secret “deal” with Macron when he was economy minister between 2014 and 2016.
The newspaper talked about the meetings held in the minister’s office and the numerous exchanges (meetings, calls and text messages) between the Uber France teams on the one hand and Macron and his advisers on the other.
Le Monde’s report highlights what the paper says Macron’s ministry is helping Uber to strengthen its position in France.
French opposition lawmakers have condemned what appears to be close cooperation between Macron and Uber as the company tries to circumvent strict government regulations on the transport sector.
In a call to AFP, Uber France confirmed that the two sides are in contact and that the meetings with Macron took place within the framework of his ministerial missions.
The Elysée Palace told AFP that at the time, Macron, as economy minister, was “of course” with “many companies involved in the deep transformation that took place in the service sector during the mentioned years, and (the change should be) by opening Facilitate administrative and organizational barriers.
However, Mathilde Panio, head of the Proud France (radical left) parliamentary bloc, took to her Twitter account to denounce what she saw as the “plundering of the country” when Macron was “counselor and minister of Francois Hollande”.
As for the leader of the Communist Party (BCF), Fabian Roussel, he believes the revelations show “the active role that Emmanuel Macron, when he was minister, played in facilitating the development of Uber in France, against all our laws. All social rights “We and against all the rights of our workers.”
Communist lawmaker Pierre Derville called for a parliamentary inquiry into the case.
For his part, John Bardella, head of the far-right Raleigh Nationale party, wrote on Twitter that the revelations show that Macron aims to serve private, often foreign, interests before the national interest.
Source: Lebanon Debate
