French president Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday defended his interactions with Uber, responding to a trove of company documents that reveal he at times even surprised executives with the extent of his support when he was economy minister and they were trying to muscle their way into European markets, reports The Washington Post.
The documents dominated a portion of the debate in France’s Parliament on Tuesday, amid calls for an inquiry and criticism that Macron had done Uber’s bidding at the expense of workers’ rights and against the will of the left-leaning government he served at the time.
“I’m very proud of what I’ve done,” Macron told reporters during a visit to the southeastern French region of Isère.
The president, who appeared to be visibly emotional, ignored several attempts by aides to get moving as he offered his first public comment since the Uber documents were published on Sunday by Le Monde, The Washington Post and other outlets.
“I saw foreign business leaders — horror!” he said sarcastically. “If they created jobs in France, then I’m super proud of it. And you know what? I would do it again tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.”