“Uber Files”: the vast investigation which lifts the veil on the brutal methods of the VTC giant
The questionable practices of the VTC giant Uber are at the heart of a vast journalistic investigation published this Sunday in several media, including The Guardian, Le Monde and Radio France.
AFP/Archivos
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
Forced passage, muscular lobbying, recruitment of former senior officials... An international investigation of journalists shows that the Uber platform has resorted to brutal practices and has "
broken the law
" to impose itself despite the reluctance of politicians and taxis.
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The
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 as presentations, notes and invoices.
On Sunday July 10, several daily newspapers (including the
Washington Post
in the United States and
Le Monde
in France) published their first articles 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,
" the Guardian says in its introduction.
The articles mention in particular messages from Travis Kalanick, then boss of the San Francisco-based company, when executives worried about the risks for the drivers whom Uber encouraged to participate in a demonstration in Paris.
"
I think it's worth it
," the co-founder told them.
“
Violence guarantees success
”.
The company will not apologize
"
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.
Uber recalls that the media has already covered the company's errors before 2017 extensively, from press to books and even a television series.
“
Uber is now one of the most important work platforms in the world and part of the daily lives of more than 100 million people.
We have moved from an era of confrontation to an era of collaboration
,” elaborates Jill Hazelbaker.
Uber broke laws, duped police and secretly lobbied governments, leak revealshttps://t.co/eKQUGmrWlm
— The Guardian (@guardian) July 10, 2022
The French section
One of the aspects of the investigation concerns France, and how a certain Emmanuel Macron pleaded the cause of the American group.
In 2014 and 2015, while Uber is expanding.
But in France, the group is targeted by investigations.
Taxis are waging war on it mainly because of the Uberpop offer, which allows any vehicle owner to act as a driver without a license.
In government, then-CEO Travis Kalanick and his teams paid several visits to Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron.
Uber is asking for the relaxation of the Thévenoud law which governs the sector, in particular the duration of driver training deemed too long.
Clue that Uber has found an attentive ear: this change will eventually come by decree.
In exchange, Uber must abandon the Uberpop service.
But there are always more drivers in Paris, Marseille, which fuels the conflict VTC / taxis against a backdrop of accusations of social and fiscal dumping.
And in this war, Uber's allies are not in the Ministry of Transport or Labor, but in Bercy.
The Elysée press service, questioned by Radio France, replied simply that the past functions of the president naturally led him to discuss the means of lifting the locks to facilitate the transfer of the services embodied by Uber at the era.
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