The controversy invites itself on the benches of the Assembly. After the revelations of the “Uber files”, the oppositions are calling for a parliamentary commission of inquiry. Nupes deputies want to shed light on the revelations of the Radio France investigation unit and the consortium of journalists on the hypothesis of a “deal” between the American VTC company Uber and Emmanuel Macron when he was minister economy.
>> Uber Files: revelations about the VTC giant’s lobbying practices
Faced with the bronca, the majority plays the “VRP” card. Thus, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire judged that Emmanuel Macron “was totally in his role as Minister of the Economy by having contacts with the president of Uber and seeking to open the market for online platforms“, which at the time were part of the “new buoyant markets“, he said on the sidelines of the “Choose France” summit in Versailles. One of the responsibilities of a Minister of the Economy, “is to ensure that there is competition on a certain number of markets so that our compatriots can pay less for a certain number of services“, he insisted.
The boss of the LREM deputies Aurore Bergé also brushed aside these criticisms, judging “wonderful a country that is offended that a Minister of the Economy receives business leaders in a totally public way in a debate that was a parliamentary debate“.”There is no deal, there is no consideration, there is a minister who has received great business leaders and that is normal“, she added.
Still, the subject is hot among deputies. The subject was thus invited on the sidelines of the debate on the motion of censure, Monday, July 11, and will, without a doubt, reappear during Questions to the government on Tuesday. Thus, the four groups of the left-wing coalition want a parliamentary commission of inquiry and will suggest opening it, Tuesday, July 12, to Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly.
The RN, he says he wants “request a fact-finding mission“, by the voice of Jordan Bardella on franceinfo, and asks for a “resale right” to a previous commission on the Alstom affair. But what can happen now?
#UberFiles : what next? ➡️ “We need a commission of inquiry. We will in any case call for an information mission. It is our role as opponents to control the action of the government”, for the MEP RN.
The live https://t.co/cEwi3c61QM pic.twitter.com/NVyYGCZgjH
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) July 12, 2022
Finally, considering that Emmanuel Macron acted “like a real lobbyist“, the leader of the Communists Fabien Roussel also believes that “it raises the question of how we can question an active President of the Republic“, he affirmed during a press conference. The Constitution does not allow it today, but his party proposes to “modify it for this“.
So one question remains: what can happen now? Two scenarios are possible: the first, the quickest – and the least likely – would be that the President of the Assembly, from the majority, be at the initiative of this parliamentary commission of inquiry. This could therefore see the light of day this summer. The presidents of the left-wing coalition groups will plead their case in this regard at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning with Yaël Braun-Pivet, the former president of the Law Commission, accused by the opposition of having buried the mission of information on the Benalla affair, four years ago.
If she refuses, the deputies of Nupes will have to assert their “right to draw”, that is to say the possibility, for each group, of writing a motion for a resolution to open a commission of inquiry once a parliamentary session. Except that the left is forced to wait for the start of the ordinary session in the Assembly to table it, and therefore to be able to set up a commission of inquiry, that is to say not before next fall. With the risk, therefore, that the pressure around the Uber Files affair will fall by then.