Uber says Paris prosecutors bent rules under political pressure

FILE PHOTO: A taxi passes by an advertisement for the Uber car and ride-sharing service displayed on a bus stop in Paris, France, in this March 11, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo

Uber Technologies Inc said its French UberPop unit fell victim to political pressure that caused local prosecutors to bend rules to gain a criminal conviction, as the ride-sharing service fights attempts by regulators around Europe to rein it in. 

Pressure from leaders including then-President Francois Hollande led the prosecution team to be “the most imaginative it could” to build a criminal case against the unit, the company’s lawyer, Guillaume Pellegrin, said during the first day of a trial at the Paris court of appeals Monday.