He “assumes thoroughly” and is “hyperfier”: the French President, Emmanuel Macron, sharply replied to criticism on Tuesday after the revelation of his privileged exchanges in the past with the company Uber, insisting on “the thousands of jobs” created .
As part of the “Uber Files”, an investigation based on thousands of internal documents from the American company of private drivers Uber, the evening daily The world concluded that there was a secret agreement between the company and Emmanuel Macron when he was François Hollande’s Minister of the Economy (2014-2016).
The daily also shows that the former lobbyist in Europe for the company, at the time “senior adviser to the board of directors”, had contributed in 2016 to raising funds for the campaign of the future president.
Two days after these revelations, the opposition continues to accuse the head of state of having defended the interests of Uber at the time when the company was developing its establishment in France.
“I am extremely proud […] It is very difficult to create jobs without companies or entrepreneurs,” declared the Head of State on the sidelines of a trip near the French Alps. “I would do it again tomorrow and the day after tomorrow,” he said.
“We introduce a kind of atmosphere which would consist in saying that seeing business leaders, in particular foreign ones, would be bad. But I assume it thoroughly and looking at you! I saw business leaders, the horror! I saw them, it was always official, with collaborators. I’m proud of it ! If they have created jobs in France, I am very proud of that, ”said Emmanuel Macron.
“As one of my predecessors would say, it affects me one without moving the other”, added the head of state, in reference to a sentence attributed to former President Jacques Chirac (1995-2007) .
Broad Spectrum Survey
The oppositions do not intend to stop there: the left-wing coalition (which brings together left-wing radicals, socialists, communists, environmentalists) will request a parliamentary commission of inquiry, declared the boss of the French Socialist Party, Olivier Faure .
“Here is a minister who […] has quietly, secretly, built a deal with the company that everyone knows was that of the lowest social bidder, which was the Trojan horse for the destruction of part of our Labor Code”, he criticized on a news channel.
The far right (RN) wants to launch an information mission, according to its president, Jordan Bardella.
The survey published by the newspaper The world Sunday is part of a vast investigation carried out on Uber involving around forty international newspapers.
Based on various testimonies and documents, including numerous SMS exchanges, The world reports meetings in the minister’s office, numerous exchanges (appointments, calls or text messages) between the Uber France teams and Mr. Macron or his advisers, citing in particular meeting minutes written by lobbyist Mark MacGann .
“I brought in companies, I helped French entrepreneurs, I especially helped young people, who were not offered jobs, who came from difficult neighborhoods, who had no opportunities jobs to find for the first time in their lives, and for thousands of them,” President Macron said on Tuesday.
“Then, he added in front of some journalists, we regulated these jobs […] at French and European level. »