What Nathalie spoke about.

11 Mar

2025

FR Speech

White paper on the future of European defence (debate)

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Madam President, Europe of defence was born last Thursday. It was unfortunately a labor in pain. It took the rapprochement between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to finally listen to those who have been advocating for European strategic autonomy for years. I will not give in to the ease of reminding you that we told you that, because no one imagined that the United States would turn its back on i…

22 Jan

2025

FR Speech

Case of Boualem Sansal in Algeria

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Madam President, 'I do not agree with what you say, but I will fight to the death so that you have the right to say it'. This phrase, no one knows if Voltaire really uttered it, but it has passed through the centuries as a light passes through the night. Today, it is with Boualem Sansal in mind that I pronounce it. I don't always agree with what he said, or where he said it, and it doesn't matter …

22 Jan

2025

FR Speech

Uniting Europe against actors hostile to the EU: time to strengthen our security and defence (topical debate)

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Madam President, what if Donald Trump was right? What if we had to do more to defend ourselves? The answer is yes, of course. We do not outsource our security, unless we say that we do not take it seriously. It took the Russian aggression against Ukraine for us to start waking up. It may take a second Trump presidency for us to finally get up. Strengthening European defence is not an ideological m…

21 Jan

2025

FR Speech

Further deterioration of the political situation in Georgia (debate)

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Mr President, in Georgia, the European Union is the only one that does nothing, and that is a disgrace. The elections have been stolen, and neither the new president, nor the government, nor the parliament are legitimate. Commissioner, I am still waiting for you to say this clearly, as our Parliament has been able to say. The population has been demonstrating for fifty-five days. It faces intimida…

21 Jan

2025

EN Answer

Need to enforce the Digital Services Act to protect democracy on social media platforms including against foreign interference and biased algorithms (debate)

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Dear Fidias, my question goes to you. A lie is when you go on a mission observation of election in Georgia. You say you see massive fraud, you see a rigged election and then you rush to your favourite social media to say that everything was okay and that this election was perfect. This is precisely what you did. And you were even able to do it because there is freedom of expression in Europe. But …

21 Jan

2025

FR Speech

Need to enforce the Digital Services Act to protect democracy on social media platforms including against foreign interference and biased algorithms (debate)

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Madam President, the free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the most valuable human rights. Any citizen can therefore speak and write freely, unless he or she is held accountable for the abuse of that freedom in cases determined by law. Colleagues, it is not the Digital Services Act (DSA) that I am reading to you, it is the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789…

17 Dec

2024

FR Speech

Misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms, such as TikTok, and related risks to the integrity of elections in Europe (debate)

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Madam President, when the wise man shows the moon, the fool looks at TikTok. He offers his brain time available to all manipulations. Protection of personal data? None! Compliance with the Digital Services Act? Nenni. Freedom of expression? Depends on who. As shown by the presidential election in Romania, TikTok is capable of the worst, such as creating from scratch a far-right candidate, a plotte…

17 Dec

2024

FR Speech

Crackdown on peaceful pro-European demonstrators in Georgia (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, have we become deaf? Do we not hear what protesters shout every night in Tbilisi and all over Georgia? I'll tell you what they're shouting! I went to meet them. They were robbed of the elections. They've been rigged. We're robbing them of their future. They dream of Europe, and the ruling party, the misnamed Georgian Dream, has eyes only for Russia. They repeat …

17 Dec

2024

FR Speech

Toppling of the Syrian regime, its geopolitical implications and the humanitarian situation in the region (debate)

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Mr President, Madam High Representative, Bashar al-Assad has fallen. The message is strong and applies to all dictators: None is eternal. It also applies to all regimes that rely on an alliance with Russia. Vladimir Putin is not a reliable ally. Bashar al-Assad has fallen, and we are appalled at the sight of the prisoners released from these deaths. We knew, but today we see what the barbarism of …

13 Nov

2024

FR Speech

Georgia's worsening democratic crisis following the recent parliamentary elections and alleged electoral fraud (debate)

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Mr President, ballot box stuffing, lack of secrecy of the vote, confiscation of identity papers, intimidation of voters, vote buying, violence, uncertainty about counting. This is the complete panoply of electoral fraud that I saw in Georgia, where I was on an official observation mission. Since then, the demonstrations have followed and resembled each other. Georgians protest that they have been …

13 Nov

2024

FR Speech

EU-US relations in light of the outcome of the US presidential elections (debate)

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Madam President, last Wednesday Europe woke up with concern when it learned that the 47th President of the United States would be the same as the 45th President. Since then, Europeans have gone through several phases. Stupor and tremors first, as if the hypothesis of a return of Donald Trump had not been considered or anticipated. Denial and relativism then, between those who try to convince thems…

13 Nov

2024

FR Speech

Order of business

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Madam President, I, like six other colleagues, took part in the election observation mission to Georgia, where we saw a lot of fraud and intimidation. I therefore welcome the fact that there is a debate on this subject here in Parliament. But what is happening right now in Georgia are daily demonstrations of Georgians taking to the streets with Georgian flags and European flags. They expect a lot …

22 Oct

2024

FR Speech

Situation in Azerbaijan, violation of human rights and international law and relations with Armenia (debate)

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Mr President, in hosting COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan wanted to be talked about. Well, let's hear it and talk about it. I would like to thank those who, together with me, have prepared the text that we will put to your vote, i.e. all the groups except the Patriots for Europe and the Europe of Sovereign Nations, who have not bothered to work on this resolution. Let us turn to the greenwashing offered …

9 Oct

2024

FR Speech

Iraq, notably the situation of women’s rights and the recent proposal to amend the Personal Status Law

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Madam President, legend has it that a woman, Semiramis, was queen of Mesopotamia and founded Babylon. Today, it is a daily challenge to be a woman in Iraq. It was believed that the time when Daesh committed genocide against the Yazidis and enslaved their women was over. It was believed that the time had passed when Saddam Hussein was cajoling the Iranian sect of the people's mujahideen and letting…

9 Oct

2024

FR Speech

The case of Bülent Mumay in Türkiye

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Madam President, we knew that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's regime was angry with human rights. We already knew the fate of many political opponents, Kurdish representatives, lawyers, civil servants, intellectuals, patrons and journalists. The case of Bülent Mumay sheds light on another aspect of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's regime: It's his business aspect. What is the crime that earned Bülent Mumay to be con…

19 Sep

2024

FR Speech

Composition of committees and delegations

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Madam President, exactly one year ago today, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive on Nagorno-Karabakh after organizing its blockade. One hundred thousand Armenians were forced to flee leaving everything behind, in what is the first ethnic cleansing of the 21st century. A year later, none of them were able to return home. Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh are still being held in Azerbaijan, priso…

18 Sep

2024

FR Speech

The deteriorating situation of women in Afghanistan due to the recent adoption of the law on the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the Olympic and Paralympic Games have just ended. Let me tell you about Zakia Khudadadi. Born disabled in Afghanistan, she fled the Taliban regime with the help of France. She is now a bronze medalist in taekwondo with the refugee team, the ones that some in this House would not like to welcome to Europe. She says she's fighting for all women in Afghanistan. She…

17 Sep

2024

FR Speech

War in the Gaza Strip and the situation in the Middle-East (debate)

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Madam President, I have just returned from Jordan, where the Muslim Brotherhood has made a historic breakthrough. Why? Because images of Gaza flood the world and break the heart. At the same time, we all saw the demonstrations in Israel. At present, there is no release of hostages, there are only hostage deaths and this too breaks the heart. To support Israel, as I do, is not to give in to its sec…

17 Sep

2024

FR Speech

Continued financial and military support to Ukraine by EU Member States (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to address all Western politicians and say bluntly: You're not up to it. Helping Ukraine is not about taking selfies in Kiev or repeating empty speeches. To help Ukraine is to provide it with what it needs, when it needs it, without restriction and without delay. The restrictions imposed on Ukraine to defend itself make no sense. He is forced to fig…

16 Sep

2024

FR Speech

Persistent problems of anti-Semitism in Europe and of other forms of hate speech and hate crimes (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, let us be aware. Here in Strasbourg, in this Parliament chaired by Simone Veil, we have to face the facts: Anti-Semitism has not been defeated in Europe. Worse, he's soaring again. In my country, France, anti-Semitic acts are up 73% for the first six months of the year. This is called the "October 7" effect, as if the bloodiest pogrom in recent history had unloc…

16 Sep

2024

FR Speech

Announcement by the President – Election of the European Ombudsman

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Madam President, on 24 July, one of our colleagues, Rima Hassan, threatened another of our colleagues, François-Xavier Bellamy, on social media. I quote: For now, François-Xavier Bellamy and his boyfriends close to the Israeli genocidal regime sleep well at night. It's not going to last." End of quote. These threats are both unacceptable and irresponsible. We can have all the disagreements of the …

17 Jul

2024

FR Speech

The need for the EU's continuous support for Ukraine (debate)

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Madam President, as we have said, Flight MH17 was shot down exactly ten years ago. Russia has been waging war against Ukraine for 10 years. And we, here in the European institutions, pay ourselves words. So there are all the words in our speeches, but there are no weapons, there is not enough ammunition to allow Ukraine to win. There is not enough political will. There is not enough financial mean…

24 Apr

2024

FR Speech

Resumption of the sitting

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Madam President, on Saturday 24 April 1915, in Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, 600 Armenians were rounded up and murdered on the orders of the government. This was the beginning of a genocide, in which three quarters of the then Armenian population perished. The international community has not reacted. A few months ago, Azerbaijan forcibly expelled 100,000 Armenians from Nagorno…

24 Apr

2024

FR Speech

Iran’s unprecedented attack against Israel, the need for de-escalation and an EU response (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, there is a paradox which I cannot resolve and to which I ask you not to give free rein. To hear certain political speeches, all countries in the world would have the right to self-defence – all but Israel. On 7 October, Hamas terrorists killed, maimed, raped and took civilians hostage because they were Jewish. However, an unsubmissive member of parliament from F…

10 Apr

2024

FR Speech

New allegations of Russian interference in the European Parliament, in the upcoming EU elections and the impact on the Union (debate)

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Mr President, right now, in order to know what is happening in our Parliament, you have to read the press. It shows that the Czech services have dismantled a network of Russian influence in Europe. "One more," you say? Not quite. We learn from the Belgian Prime Minister, who was speaking before his Parliament, that (I quote him): Russia has approached European parliamentarians, but has also paid t…