The Uber platform said on Sunday it would not apologize for its “past”, in response to an international investigation by journalists showing that the company used brutal practices and “broke the law” to s impose despite the reluctance of politicians and taxis.
“We have not and will not make excuses for past behaviors that are clearly not aligned with our current values,” Jill Hazelbaker, Uber’s vice president of public affairs, said in a statement. on line.
An international investigation
Le Guardian, a 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 dailies (the Washington Post in the United States, the Monde in France, and others) published their first articles taken from these “Uber Files”.
They highlight certain methods employed during these years of rapid expansion but also of confrontation for Uber, from Paris to Johannesburg. “The company has broken the law, deceived police and regulators, exploited violence against drivers, and secretly lobbied governments around the world,” he said. Guardian en introduction.
Revelation of privileged links between Macron and Uber
The world looked at the links between American society and Emmanuel Macron when he was Minister of the Economy (2014-2016). Based on various testimonies and documents, including numerous SMS exchanges, Le Monde concludes that there is a secret “deal” between Uber and Emmanuel Macron in Bercy. The daily reports meetings in the minister’s office, numerous exchanges (appointments, calls or SMS) between the teams of Uber France and Emmanuel Macron or his advisers. Certain practices intended to help Uber consolidate its positions in France are pointed out, such as suggesting that the company present “turnkey” amendments to deputies.
The company Uber France has confirmed the holding of meetings with Emmanuel Macron: meetings which “fall under his responsibilities as Minister of the Economy and Digital supervising the VTC sector”. The Elysée indicated that Emmanuel Macron, as Minister of the Economy, was “naturally led to discuss with many companies involved in the profound change in services that has occurred over the years mentioned, which should be facilitated by unraveling certain administrative or regulatory locks”.