What Marc spoke about.

11

Mar

2026

Speeches FR

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Rise of political violence, notably by far-left organisations (debate)

11

Mar

2026

Speeches FR

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Immunity of International Criminal Court officials and the activation of the EU Blocking Statute to strengthen EU strategic autonomy (debate)

11

Mar

2026

Speeches EN

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EUCO and situation in the Middle East (joint debate)

Madam President, most of you don't condemn, even support Trump's and Netanyahu's war on Iran, yet claim to stand with the Iranian people. Now, I dare you to say that to the eyes of that seven-year-old girl, her backpack still beside her desk, that was killed when a US Tomahawk missile hit her elementary school. Dare to admit to the 167 other victims in that school that you are offering European bases to US killing machines. Tell the families of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, that you support the chemical warfare of Israel, as they poison the air with toxic fires and black rain that will cause cancers for decades. Tell the Iranian people how much you really love them, while from Golestan to Chehel Sotoun, Western bombs damage centuries-old cultural heritage. Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Iraq. Your bombs never brought democracy and never will. They bring chaos, death, destruction and the unbearable silence of children who will never come home.

10

Mar

2026

Speeches FR

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Tackling barriers to the single market for defence - Flagship European defence projects of common interest

10

Mar

2026

Speeches FR

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Cutting red tape to enable a competitive and clean transition – the urgent need to shorten and simplify permitting (debate)

Madam President, 100% of the Belgian population now lives in a PFAS risk area, and 20% even in a high-risk area. These so-called eternal chemicals accumulate in our bodies, are in the soil, are found in drinking water and are linked to cancer and hormonal diseases. But today, the European Union, rather than protecting people, is talking about deregulation. Soon, some large companies will no longer be forced to say what toxic, chemical substances they use, or even how much. And you even want to deprive public authorities of the time it takes to look at whether a project, yes or no, harms public health. Until now, two or three years were considered reasonable, but now I see that for extremely dangerous projects, especially those related to the defence sector, we are talking about two or three months that we would give as time. We obviously can't do a serious investigation into that time. And if we don't have the means to do the investigation: tacit approval. Extremely dangerous. It's going to mean profits for shareholders and cancers for people. It will never be our choice.

10

Mar

2026

Speeches FR

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Recommendation on enhanced EU-Canada cooperation in the current geopolitical context, including the threats to Canada’s economic stability and sovereignty (debate)

10

Mar

2026

Speeches FR

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Guidelines for the 2027 budget - Section III (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, speaking of the budget, I have read that the Commission wants more money for private jet travel. Finally, you don't call it a "private jet", you talk about "air taxi", it goes better. We take the taxi, certainly it flies, but it remains a taxi. However, within a few years, this budget has increased by 50% – I think we are now at, what, 15 million? – and I said to myself, as you defended – ‘Yes, but it is for emergency trips to the other side of the world’ –, I said to myself, OK, and then I looked at:me van der Leyen uses it to make Brussels-Luxembourg, it's 200 kilometers, or Brussels-Strasbourg, while there is a train that does this in 3 hours. So tens of millions of European workers cannot afford a week's holiday a year, but the Commission insists on more private jet travel. And besides, nothing to do with the climate either, because a private jet, it emits, what, between five and 40 times more CO2 than a commercial flight. So, colleagues, let us say no to these kinds of privileges that are bad for everyone, also for our climate.

10

Mar

2026

Speeches FR

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European Semester for economic policy coordination 2026 - European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for 2026 (joint debate)

11

Feb

2026

Speeches FR

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Addressing subcontracting chains and the role of intermediaries in order to protect workers’ rights (debate)

Mr President, we know that on any construction site now in Europe – whether it is a hotel, hospital or building site – the prime contractor displays his name in a big way, but in reality the workers work for different companies, different subcontractors – one for pouring concrete, the other for scaffolding, etc. A study has identified up to 188 subcontractors on the same site, 17 levels. And we see it in other sectors: industry, agriculture, food, etc. It has become a business model. To maximize profits, the rights of workers, of unpaid wages, of workers literally killed, are put under pressure. And then the unions, the workers mobilize. What do we see here? The right which comes to explain: No, no, workers, you didn't understand anything. We know, we don't need a law. We know better than workers, better than those who literally die at work. That is unacceptable. Today we need a European law to limit these practices, to limit this social dumping, and we are counting on you. Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, we'll keep pushing.

11

Feb

2026

Speeches FR

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State violence in Minneapolis and the rule of law in the United States (topical debate)

Madam President, it is terrifying to imagine masked militiamen to the teeth who not only attack protesters who demonstrate peacefully, but in addition to seeing Robocop To kidnap Liam, a five-year-old child, and then to have the far right come here just to do its theater to applaud these fascist practices, to hope that this happens also at home. It's terrifying. Trump sends his police, his private ICE militia, terrorizing working-class neighborhoods and schools, and you applaud? Oddly, I can't hear you asking for the same treatment for billionaires. Epstein files. These, you don't want to worry them, I wonder why. But we must also say that Europe does not have this moral superiority. We see Mme von der Leyen is unable to condemn because it is the United States. We see that Frontex, our version of the ECI, is militarised, lacks transparency, and will now be able to send small children to countries where they have never been. So we are putting ourselves on a slippery slope that is likely to get us on exactly the same path as the United States. Well, we will be in the resistance, dear colleagues, goodbye.

10

Feb

2026

Speeches FR

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Violence in the Great Lakes Region, particularly in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (debate)

10

Feb

2026

Speeches EN

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Situation in Northeast Syria, the violence against civilians and the need to maintain a sustainable ceasefire (debate)

Mr President, I want to point out the elephant in the room, because you've mentioned the sovereignty of Syria, but no one here condemned the fact that Israel wiped out the entire Syrian military infrastructure, taking advantage of the regime change. No one here is condemning the fact that the United States still have troops in Syria, and they should withdraw. Otherwise, we cannot speak of sovereignty. No one here dares to speak about territorial integrity. Why? Why can we not say that the Israeli troops that are illegally occupying parts of Syria should withdraw? And then look at the Kurds – the Kurds celebrated in 2015 as the forces that were fighting ISIS, Daesh. They got US support. The US took advantage of it to establish military bases in the oil-rich regions of Syria. Today, they can be killed because now we support the other leader. They are learning basically what some US analysts already said: being an enemy of the US may be dangerous, being its friend is fatal. If this is true for Europe as well, we are a shame.

10

Feb

2026

Speeches FR

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Building a stronger European defence in light of an increasingly volatile international environment (debate)

9

Feb

2026

Speeches FR

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Order of business

21

Jan

2026

Speeches FR

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European Council meeting (joint debate)

Mr President, Mr Costa, Mrs Kallas, last year the President of the European Commission, Mrs von der Leyen, was in Washington and took some orders. We saw her with her little notepad. How many American weapons do we have to buy? Okay, it's okay. How much of your gas? Okay, okay. And how much do we pay him? It's okay. Total bid. We fell silent when the United States spied on our leaders. We fell silent when they bombed eight countries in a single year, from Venezuela to the Middle East. And even today, while Trump says he wants to annex Greenland, the president of the European Commission comes here saying: But we are still aligned. But Stockholm syndrome, it's powerful, it's very clear. If we make so much carpet, necessarily that we end up on the menu, it does not surprise me. Today, American imperialism has the honesty to say that it is the greatest threat to peace and security in the world. So what to do with it? Unite with others. Americans are powerful, but they are not all-powerful. And all over the world, from Brazil to China, from India to South Africa, the powers of the South are fed up with American imperialism. So let us unite, let us make the United Nations for peace. Ah but the United Nations exists, let's go!

20

Jan

2026

Speeches FR

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CFSP and CSDP (Article 36 TEU) (joint debate)

Mr President, High Representative, colleagues, have you seen Trump's message about Macron? Finally, Macron's message that Trump showed, where he says: Listen Donald, we agree so much on Syria and Iran, please leave Greenland to us. I think it perfectly synthesizes a good part of European foreign policy in recent decades. We always agreed with the United States when it came to bombing the countries of the South. Even the illegal war in Iraq in 2003, half of Europe that today complains and defends international law, at the time supported it. We supported him when he illegally overthrew the Libyan regime. It was supported when, after 20 years of occupation in Afghanistan, the Taliban was replaced by the Taliban. And again recently, when he illegally bombed Iran, when he kidnapped the Venezuelan leader. We didn't dare condemn. And inevitably, when we see that we make the doormats, sooner or later we get walked on. Now is the time to change our approach. Because if not, the same colonial logic that was applied in Gaza and Palestine, it will now fall on Greenland and Europe. And what's the alternative? It is to regain international credibility and to say, together with all these countries that exist, Brazil, India, China, we will see them, we will create coalitions and a counter-power to the bully Washington, which has emerged and is now, indeed, attacking us, like all imperialism, sooner or later, too. Let's rethink that credibility. Canada is trying to do so so as not to be annexed. What does Europe expect? Let us turn to the South and ask for alliances.

20

Jan

2026

Questions FR

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Brutal repression against protesters in Iran (debate)

I think the question is not "are we in solidarity, yes or no, with the Iranian people?" That, we are all and also the left. So what you're saying from that point of view is a lie, let's say. The real question I would dare to ask you is this: Why do you mind the Iranians being killed today, but a year ago, when the Israelis killed them, you didn't mind? Why do the Iranians, their dead, today worry you, but the Palestinians, you had no problem leaving them and seeing them massacred? Because that's double standards, sir.

20

Jan

2026

Speeches EN

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Brutal repression against protesters in Iran (debate)

Mr President, it might have been an interpretation problem, but I heard my colleague, Ms Latinopoulou, claim that the left was a cancer for Europe. I would like to have an investigation into these words, because I think that's absolutely inappropriate language that is not to be used. I would like to submit this to the presidency, because if there's one problem in Europe, it's been their complicity with Israeli crimes in Gaza and not the solidarity we have here with all the people. But it's mostly about the formal language. This cannot pass in this Parliament. We cannot treat each other this way, and we will not stand for this kind of fascist intimidation.

20

Jan

2026

Speeches EN

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Brutal repression against protesters in Iran (debate)

Mr President, colleagues, High Representative, we have seen the images, and the inhumane killing of thousands of innocent Iranians is vile, shameful and unacceptable. I hear your call for more sanctions, however, academic literature has offered a damning assessment of European and western sanctions so far. Since the 1990s, Iran developed very elaborate middle classes that became the backbone of a number of reform movements, like the so-called Green Movement. But since 2011, western sanctions have crushed those middle classes, pushed millions into poverty, trapped students, destroyed local businesses, with food prices skyrocketing – and who benefited? The IRGC, the military revolutionary guard that had the networks to control trade, to manage import and infrastructure. So the sanctions weakened the forces of social change inside Iran, fostering inequality, corruption and the militarisation of the Iranian economy. Sanctions do not birth democracy, sanctions breed chaos. Our double standards, as well, have been used against us as an argument. When the US-Israeli strikes killed Iranian civilians, this Parliament failed to condemn it. The Israelis announced covert operations in Iran and we were not able to condemn it. All of that plays into the card of the hardliners in Iran that claim the West cannot be trusted. Dear colleagues, Europe has claimed to stand for democracy in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya. Where do those countries stand now? If we want to support the Iranian people, we need to stop punishing them. Lift sanctions that hurt the civilians in Iran, restore those cultural exchanges and apply human rights consequently to all and everywhere, and we have the United Nations mechanisms to also apply to Iran.

19

Jan

2026

Speeches FR

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Order of business

Madam President, Rule 126. As you said, after two weeks of repression, thousands of deaths in Iran, you have banned Iranian diplomats from entering Parliament. All right, all right. But we have been asking you for two years to exclude Israeli diplomats from this Parliament, because they too come here, with the mandate of a prime minister under an international arrest warrant, defend crimes against innocent Palestinians and in fact represent a genocidal state. And now you don't, and I'd like to ask you why. Because the atrocities committed by our allies cannot be worth less than those of others. And just as when you excluded Russian diplomats for Russia's violations in Ukraine, neither can we have a pool at a time when the United States is threatening or violating Venezuela's sovereignty. So, Madam President, I would like to ask you again formally, so that this Parliament retains credibility in the field of human rights: Please deny Israeli diplomats access to these buildings.

17

Dec

2025

Speeches FR

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 18-19 December 2025, in particular the need to support Ukraine, transatlantic relations and the EU’s strategic autonomy (debate)

Madam President, the European Commission has just invented the concept of ‘selective independence’: We will cut our ties with Russia for gas, but increase our dependence on the United States. If, in addition, it increases production costs for our industry, it also risks weakening Europe, by the way. There is also selective outrage over foreign interference: Russian, Belarusian and other interference is offended, but when a scandal breaks out here about an Israeli strategy to influence courts and cabinets in Europe, total silence. When we read, in the US national security strategy, that the Americans will rely on the extreme right to change Europe, we see here that the right votes quietly with the extreme right to facilitate these projects. Yet you are not criticizing the United States. You say: "Yes, but we want to defend our way of life", but these are your social measures; your economic measures that undermine the way of life of our workers, who are afraid of the price of the cart, who are afraid of the price of energy. You are not defending it, our way of life, you are undermining and torpedoing it. "At least, on the military, we do something," but to do what? Are you going to spend as much as the United States to do the same as the United States? Wars all over the world? Are you jealous of not being able to bomb Venezuela or Iraq? What Europe needs is a very clear thing: a diversification of our diplomatic relations and a position fundamentally different from that of the United States in this world.

16

Dec

2025

Speeches FR

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Recent developments in Palestine and Lebanon (debate)

16

Dec

2025

Speeches FR

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EU Defence Readiness (joint debate)

15

Dec

2025

Speeches FR

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Incentivising defence-related investments in the EU budget to implement the ReArm Europe Plan (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, what is being proposed here is a robbery: A whole range of European funds – our money – which should be used to improve the daily lives of European citizens, will be diverted to the service of the big multinationals and the war, to the benefit of their shareholders. Taxpayer money, public funds for technology: at the service of multinational armaments companies. Public funding for research: military projects. Public funds for recovery: in the service of war. Even public funds for transport will be diverted to the service of war. Do you think that today the civil infrastructure in Europe is too good? Do you think trains run too punctually or highways are too good? Look, you'll have to get out of this assembly to realize the reality. The real question that should be asked is: Why, by spending three times as much as Russia and much more than almost any other country in the world, would we not be able to defend ourselves? Either you're lying to us, or there's something behind it: I do not know about incompetence in the management of funds, corruption. But that’s what you need to explain before robbing our public funds.

15

Dec

2025

Speeches FR

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Order of business

Madam President, Articles 11 and 213: European newspapers have just revealed, based on Israeli documents, that Israel is piloting what journalists call a ‘true war machine’ to influence cabinets of ministers, courts in different European countries. It is a direct interference in our societies by a third country, and I wonder what the situation is at the level of the European Parliament, because I read that Israel would have tried to organise legal proceedings against a Member of the European Parliament. I know that organizations aligned with the Israeli government organize sponsored trips for MPs and, of course, some MPs use sources provided by organizations also aligned with Tel Aviv. We had two special reports on foreign interference. There has been a lot of talk about Russia, China, Iran, but never about Israel – so that sounds a little weird to me. Now that we know that there is a deliberate strategy by Israel against our democracies, we can no longer turn a blind eye, and then either we make a new special committee or we integrate it into the special committee on the democratic shield. But we must take this subject seriously.