Over 100,000 leaked documents revealed ridesharing giant Uber’s secretive relationship with some of Europe’s top politicians, including French President Emmanuel Macron while he was serving as the minister for the economy.

Over 124,000 documents that included more than 83,000 emails from between 2013 and 2017 show that Uber’s controversial former head Travis Kalanick was on a first-name basis with Macron as the company attempted to launch operations in France, a move that sparked widespread violent protests from the country’s taxi companies and drivers, according to reporting from BBC, which obtained the leaked documents.

The two first met in October 2014, shortly after Macron was appointed minister for the economy, to discuss Uber’s launch in the country. Macron saw Uber as a potential new source of jobs and was enthusiastic about helping the company, soon becoming one of Uber’s most dependable champions within the French government.

That first meeting was summarized by Uber lobbyist Mark MacGann in an email, who said the talk was that Uber lobbyist Mark MacGann described the meeting as “spectacular. Like I’ve never seen,” adding that “we’ll dance soon.”

source foxbusiness.com