“We are facing a state scandal”, reacts Sunday July 10 on franceinfo Aurélien Taché, deputy Europe Ecology-The Greens (Nupes). The deputy of Val-d’Oise reacts to the revelations on the links between Emmanuel Macron and Uber in 2014, brought to light by the investigation of the Uber Files, carried out by the investigation unit of Radio France and its partners of the international Consortium of journalists from investigation (ICIJ). Thousands of internal documents at Uber reveal in particular that the company, faced with the hostility of the public authorities and vast legal troubles, was able to benefit from the benevolence and support of Emmanuel Macron when he was at the ministry. economy.
franceinfo: You are now a member of Nupes but you were elected in 2017 under the LREM banner, how do you react to this investigation and the involvement of Emmanuel Macron?
Aurelien Tache: I must admit that tonight I am completely stunned by these revelations. We do not yet measure the extent that this affair can take, tens of thousands of documents have been revealed and it has very concrete implications in a certain number of fields.
First, it says a lot about Emmanuel Macron’s conception of loyalty in politics, towards the government to which he belonged at the time and towards his state, his very nation. While the French government took a dim view of a company like Uber being able to establish itself in France, it worked behind the back of the Prime Minister at the time and the majority of Socialist deputies at the time to facilitate this facility.
How was this possible in your opinion?
One may ask. We are almost in a bad detective story: there are meetings and appointments which have been visibly concealed whereas the usual ministers put on their agenda when they receive a business, because it is all the same the basis of the transparency precisely to avoid lobbying or too strong a collusion of interests. We can clearly see that there must have been cover-ups and that there are obviously much stronger implications than that.
We go so far as to say that this company has put in place a system to prevent searches, to delete the compromising documents that it could have in the computers of its employees and that it warned Emmanuel Macron in person of a search. who was standing in his premises, to seek his advice. We are on a case where the criminal responsibility of Emmanuel Macron could be engaged. It will not be immediately, because he is president and he has immunity due to his function, but very serious questions will arise very quickly.
What political consequences do you see?
It is first up to Emmanuel Macron himself to react, he cannot remain silent. Somehow he has to speak out on this. Parliament unfortunately cannot ask Emmanuel Macron to be heard before a commission of inquiry or other, even though it could be justified. This is something that in my opinion must be re-debated: what to do when we have revelations like this about a politician who has become President of the Republic and there are no means for democracy to act ?
What could be the interest for Emmanuel Macron to have facilitated this establishment of Uber in France?
I think there is first of all a very strong ideological conviction. I think that Emmanuel Macron considers that the State, the public authorities are brakes on the economy, that they must be as weak as possible, as small as possible. It is in an extremely strong neo-liberal conception. And then there was no doubt an expected lift return as well.
We read that the company did not miss an opportunity to try to allow Emmanuel Macron to promote himself, to appear as a modern minister, champion of innovation. He therefore also had a calculation and a political aim in mind. Tonight we are faced with a state scandal. The question of the very loyalty of the President of the Republic to the French nation is raised. He must react to the height of the questions that have been revealed this evening.