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PARIS—French President
Emmanuel Macron
used a vulgar expression Tuesday as he brushed aside scrutiny of his past conduct as economy minister in helping clear the way for ride-hailing app
Technologies Inc. to keep operating in France.
Mr. Macron came under fire from opposition lawmakers this week after French daily Le Monde and other media published reports they said were based on internal documents at Uber and text messages between Uber executives and Mr. Macron when he was economy minister between 2014 and 2016.
The reports said Mr. Macron struck a deal with Uber to make it easier for drivers at ride-hailing companies to obtain chauffeur licenses and legally operate in France at a time when taxi drivers were staging violent protests against the company. In exchange, the reports said, Uber suspended its low-cost Uberpop service, which relied on nonprofessional drivers.
Mr. Macron has long burnished his support for tech companies, running for president in 2017 on a promise to transform France into a startup nation. On Tuesday, Mr. Macron traveled to a semiconductor factory in the French Alps where he struck a defiant tone. Mr. Macron said it had been part of his role as economy minister to meet with Uber and other companies to attract new investments and jobs in France.
“I would do it again tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow,” Mr. Macron said when asked about his support for Uber. The president then used an expression in French, which refers to a man’s testicles, to say he was unfazed by the controversy.
“It touches one without making the other move,” he said.
Far-left lawmakers said on Tuesday they would seek to open a parliamentary investigation into Mr. Macron’s dealings with Uber. An inquiry would risk reinforcing the public perception that the French leader is out of touch with the economic struggles of everyday French people. Mr. Macron angered leftist voters during his first term by stripping away worker protections and abolishing the wealth tax.
The president was recently re-elected by a wide margin, but he has lost his majority in the National Assembly. That gives opposition parties latitude to carry out parliamentary investigations into his past conduct.
Le Monde reported that in 2015 Uber drafted legislation and sent it to a lawmaker allied with Mr. Macron. Uber’s draft was incorporated into a government decree, according to Le Monde. Uber suspended its Uberpop service in July 2015, citing safety issues for clients and drivers.
A spokeswoman said Mr. Macron spoke to many companies as part of his work as economy minister but declined to specifically comment on the existence of a deal with Uber.
Le Monde said it obtained internal records from Uber showing Mr. Macron was in close contact with
Travis Kalanick,
then Uber’s chief executive, and public-policy chief
Mark MacGann.
Write to Noemie Bisserbe at noemie.bisserbe@wsj.com
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