By Evi Tsakali,
Uber Files is an investigation based on thousands of internal Uber documents passed on by an anonymous source to the British newspaper The Guardian and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). These documents trace the journey of a company that was trying — between 2013 and 2017 — to establish itself in a European market with a regulatory context often unfavorable to its practices, but not only that: they shifted the spotlight to potential illegal actions included in Uber’s lobbying practices with public authorities. The multinational company’s prominent lobbyist in Europe at the time, Mark MacGann, would soon lead the media’s attention to the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.
For two years, when Macron was the Minister of Economy, he would have multiple calls and meetings with MacGann. Believing in the French politician’s potential, the latter would propose to him in 2016 — on the sidelines of the Davos Forum — to support his presidential campaign. Macron accepted, and in a few days a paid lobbyist became an activist for Macron’s party (then named) “En Marche!”. It is debatable whether that constituted a conflict of interest since MacGann was no longer a full-time employee of Uber, however, it needs to be noted that he remained, despite his departure, a “senior advisor to the board” until August 2016.
Mr. MacGann may have stated that he joined the Macronist party “out of pure conviction”, but in fact, the Uber Files suggest the existence of an inevitable blurring of boundaries within the French presidential party, in which professional interest and personal commitment often came hand in hand. Several key actors in Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 presidential campaign were at the same time directly involved with Uber, including, but not limited to:
- Astrid Panosyan, a co-founder of Macron’s party, was his adviser in meetings with Uber.
- One of the early supporters of “En Marche!”, Fabrice Comptour, was at the time the chief of staff for EU Internal Market and Industry Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, considered by Uber to be one of the company’s top supporters in the Commission.
- The sister of Jean-Noël Barrot, the new minister delegate for digital affairs appointed on July 4, Hélène Barrot, is Uber’s communications director for France and Western Europe.
Emmanuel Macron acknowledged, on July 12, holding discussions with Uber executives when he was in charge of the Ministry of Economy between 2014 and 2016, by stating the issue: “I am extremely proud […] it is difficult to create jobs without companies and without entrepreneurs […] I would do that again tomorrow and the day after tomorrow”. Regarding the controversy on the conflict of interests that I mentioned above, the reelected French president defended Uber for providing employment positions for people in low-income areas and breaking the monopoly held by taxi companies, while trying to mitigate the outcomes of the revelations in an ironic tone: “I have seen heads of companies, what a shock! I saw them, it was always official, with my aides, and I’m proud: if they created jobs in France, then I’m super proud of that”.
References
- « Uber Files » : dans le monde entier, chronique d’une extraordinaire entreprise de lobbying, lemonde.fr, Available here
- « Uber Files » : révélations sur le deal secret entre Uber et Emmanuel Macron à Bercy, lemonade.fr, Available here
