After the “Panama Papers” or the “China Cables”, it is the turn of the United States company Uber to find itself in the bosom of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. On Sunday, the organization published the “Uber Files”, causing shock waves even in the French executive. But what is it? Why is Emmanuel Macron quoted? 20 minutes takes stock for you and comes back to the five essential axes of these revelations.
What are “Uber files”?
The Guardiana British daily, obtained and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) some 124,000 documents, dated from 2013 to 2017, including emails and messages from Uber executives at the time, as well as presentations, notes and invoices.
On Sunday, several news organizations (including the washington post, The world and the BBC) published their first articles from these “Uber Files”. From Paris to Johannesburg, the “Uber Files” show the ride-hailing company’s aggressive lobbying campaign and collusion with many high-profile political figures, including French President Emmanuel Macron – then economy minister.
What practices are blamed on Uber?
The “Uber Files” reveal practices bordering on legality, in particular the “kill switch”. This is an emergency blocking of company data to prevent the police from having access to this information in the event of a search. According to France Info, which is one of the media partners, the practice was common for Uber between 2014 and 2015, when it was the subject of a myriad of legal proceedings, particularly in Europe. This method was reportedly used 13 times between November 2014 and December 2015 in seven different countries including France.
The US firm sought in particular to keep its list of drivers anonymous. With a list of Uber drivers, “it’s a lot easier for taxes, regulators and the police to [les] terrify and make them give in, ”explains an Uber employee in an email revealed by France Info. If, externally, Uber claims to cooperate with justice, internally it is the commotion to obstruct the investigators as much as possible. The “kill switch” is organised, employees are disconnected after 60 seconds of inactivity, encrypted applications like WhatsApp are encouraged… Everything is thought out with the aim of avoiding transmitting information to forensic investigators.
The “Uber Files” also reveal brutal methods and publish messages from former boss Travis Kalanick as the company encouraged drivers to protest in Paris. Some executives were concerned about the risks to drivers. “I think it’s worth it. Violence guarantees success,” replied the co-founder of Uber. According The GuardianUber has adopted similar tactics in different European countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, etc.), mobilizing drivers and encouraging them to report to the police when they were victims of attacks, in order to use the cover media to obtain concessions from the authorities.
Why is Emmanuel Macron singled out?
The Head of State, Minister of the Economy from 2014 to 2016, is said to have made a “secret pact” with American society. Our colleagues from World reveal, SMS and minutes of meetings in support, the existence of a privileged relationship between Uber and Emmanuel Macron. At least 17 “meaningful” exchanges took place between the president or his close advisers and Uber teams, says The world. Certain practices intended to help Uber consolidate its positions in France, such as suggesting that the company present “turnkey” amendments to deputies, are also pointed out.
Thus, the so-called Macron 2 law would have been partially designed for the American company: certain decrees have been specially designed for the firm, such as the elimination of the 250 hours of training necessary to become a driver and replaced by a single day of training. According to the daily The world, “more than a support, Emmanuel Macron was almost a partner”. The company Uber France has confirmed the holding of meetings but assures that these meetings “were under his responsibilities as Minister of the Economy and Digital supervising the VTC sector”.
The Elysée, for its part, indicated that the Head of State, as Minister of the Economy, was “naturally led to exchange with many companies involved in the profound change in services that has occurred during the years mentioned, that ‘it was necessary to facilitate by unraveling certain administrative or regulatory locks’.
How does the opposition take hold of these revelations?
“Secret” pact against “all our rules”, “looting of the country”, etc. The ties that united the French president and the Uber company have outraged many left-wing elected officials. The boss of the LFI deputies Mathilde Panot denounced on Twitter a “looting of the country”, Emmanuel Macron having been both “adviser and minister of François Hollande and lobbyist for a US multinational aimed at deregulating the labor law in the long term”.
The number one of the PCF Fabien Roussel relayed “damning revelations on the active role played by Emmanuel Macron, then minister, to facilitate the development of Uber in France”, “against all our rules, all our social achievements and against the rights workers “. LFI MP Alexis Corbière is considering the creation of a parliamentary commission of inquiry. What shake a little more the executive who is already facing a motion of censure in the National Assembly on Monday.
What is Uber’s response?
“We have not justified and do not make excuses for behavior that is inconsistent with our current values as a company,” said Jill Hazelbaker, Uber’s vice president of public affairs, in a statement. an online press release. “We ask the public to judge us on what we have done in the past five years and what we will do in the years to come,” she added.
On the “kill switch”, the multinational underlines that “this software should never have been used to thwart legitimate regulatory actions” but does not “dispute the fact that this type of software could have been used in France”. The company apologizes but its strategy is to charge the former management team and in particular the ex-boss Travis Kalanick, who left the firm in 2017.