Speeches

Madam President, never since the Second World War have we needed so much international justice. And yet, with terrible brutality, Trump has just undermined, attacked and perhaps even ended the International Criminal Court. And what does Europe do? She deplores, she regrets, she condemns. But these are just words. When are we gonna do this? We have a tool that allows us to preserve the International Criminal Court. The International Criminal Court is the direct heir to the Nuremberg Tribunal. That is what it represents. When will the Commission finally decide to activate the Blocking Statute to protect it? When are we gonna do this? Failure to do so would be a moral bankruptcy and a challenge to our sovereignty. Because in deciding to sign the Treaty of Rome, we made the International Criminal Court our court. Donald Trump is attacking a court that is ours. When are we going to take stock of the situation and act?

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, behind every disappearance there are families and communities who suffer from uncertainty about the fate of their loved ones. However, depending on where it happens in the world, the problem may become secondary to the international community. These disappearances are commonplace in all conflicts: This is the case of Ukrainian children torn from their families by the Russian regime. This is the case of the Israeli hostages captured by Hamas. But so are the thousands of Palestinian civilians killed anonymously or imprisoned in secret. This is the case for families separated by war or forcibly recruited children in the DRC or Sudan. This is the case of mass graves found in Ukraine, Gaza, DRC or Syria. Our outrage must not be selective. All these horrors are outlawed by international humanitarian law. The belligerents are obliged to prevent disappearances and to provide information on the death or detention of persons. Yet impunity prevails and the families of the disappeared continue to be devastated. Can we hope for peace if we do not guarantee the application of international law through justice? I therefore call for the protection of international justice tools, first and foremost the International Criminal Court, which is investigating in the DRC as well as in Sudan, which has prosecuted Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu or Hamas cadres for their crimes against humanity. The families of the disappeared are entitled to justice. This is the only viable path to peace.

Mr President, finally a ceasefire. A relief for the hostages, as well as for the people of Gaza, but it is far too late: 15 months, not only of war, but of genocide. Fifteen months of moral bankruptcy of the European Union and our Member States. Fifteen months of international law with variable geometry and denial of our values. These 15 months, which have brought absolutely nothing to the goal of peace, will remain an indelible task in our national histories. Let's not steal from each other anymore! This ceasefire must be permanent. International law must be applied. This is the only way for Palestine and Israel to break the deadlock: we must bring those responsible for the genocide to justice and force Israel to end the siege of Gaza, the occupation and colonisation. We must also support UNRWA, and for this I continue to call for the arms embargo and the suspension of the Association Agreement as long as Israel pursues an apartheid policy and does not comply with international law.

Madam President, through rape, through the use of sexual slavery, women’s bodies have become a battleground, both in Sudan and in the DRC. It is a real weapon of war. Rape is used to humiliate and leave physical scars, to psychologically destroy women and their communities. Girls are not spared. In Sudan, 8-year-old children are being raped. In the DRC, the number of minors giving birth as a result of rape is skyrocketing. Rape is also used by foreign powers like Rwanda. The goal? Displace people to plunder mineral wealth. Ms Kallas, the memorandum of understanding signed with Kigali ignores Rwanda’s abuses in the DRC. I ask you a direct question: Is the EU complicit in these crimes? If so, what do you plan to do to end this complicity? I would like to quote Dr Mukwege, Sakharov Prize Laureate and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate: "It is not only the perpetrators of violence who are responsible for their crimes, but also those who choose to look away." Ms. Kallas, do not look away. Take action!

Mr President, High Representative, a special envoy and EUR 160 million in European aid is fine, but it is still insufficient in view of the situation of chaos in Syria. We are talking about a country that has been battered by half a century of oppression. We are talking about a people forced into exile to escape arbitrariness, torture and death. We are talking about crimes against humanity that need to be documented in order to establish the truth and who is responsible for them. I call on the Syrian authorities to use international justice to collect and preserve evidence. Justice is a prerequisite for peace. It must now be guaranteed the conditions to be exercised tomorrow, in a free and democratic Syria. The democratic transition must be given every opportunity and diplomatic relations restored as soon as possible. Our support must be demanding in terms of respect for human rights, and in particular in terms of respect for the rights of women and minorities. I have a special thought for the Kurdish community, whose role has been instrumental in the fight against the Islamic State. We must protect the Kurdish people from Turkish inclinations. We must also protect Syrian sovereignty from Israeli inclinations. Finally, we must protect Syrians who are refugees in our territories from the extreme right.

Mr President, Commissioner, we are in the aftermath of a presidential election that has left a profound mark on Tunisia. Tunisian democracy is over. We have seen the collapse of all its pillars: its constitution, its assembly, its legal system, its civil society, its journalists. Kaïs Saïed was re-elected with more than 90% of the vote: A normal score for a dictator who has eliminated all his opponents. We have just learned today that former presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel has been sentenced to more than 61 years in prison! Did you hear that? Sixty-one years in prison! Today, I am proud to say that I am Ayachi Zammel. The election has passed, a dictatorship is taking hold. A dictatorship that the European Union has no right to legitimise. We must support the Democrats, and I want to bring here the voice of civil society, which is fiercely defending Tunisia and its people. Let us speak out clearly against the crime of solidarity, which criminalises associations, especially those working with migrants. The migrant cannot become a currency of exchange between us and Tunisia. Let us speak out against Decree-Law No.o 2022-54, done to destroy all dissenting voices, and which now locks up lawyer Sonia Dahmani. Let us speak out against the detention of political prisoners. Sihem Ben Sedrine is a victim of judicial harassment; She must be released. Let us speak out against closing civic space and against fear. No European funding can go to this regime and its dictatorship. In our texts and in our public statements, we too have our share of responsibility, to ward off the terrible plight of Tunisians.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Israel's violation of Lebanese territory is unacceptable. There is an urgent need to return to the path of international law and to condemn war crimes by judicial and non-military means. There is an urgent need to recall the essentials: No one has the right to do justice to themselves. Repeated Israeli attacks overwhelm the entire Lebanese population. They are destroying every day a little more a country that was already on its knees. We Europeans cannot look at this with our arms crossed. Faced with this regional flare-up, UNIFIL, the body supposed to maintain peace at the border, is targeted. Our soldiers are in danger. It is time to re-establish international law and defend the United Nations. Whether it is UNIFIL or UNRWA, the UN is there for only one purpose: respect for the right of peoples to live in peace and dignity. There is still time not to let the Israeli government, not to let Netanyahu trample on everything the international community has built over the years to make peace.

Madam President, Commissioner, the ability of a person to freely practise his religion is a fundamental human right. It is enshrined in international law and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. So far, in principle, I think, finally I hope, that we can all agree. Yes, but here I regularly hear certain political groups opposing each other's rights. Some groups – and I am particularly targeting the far right, no tongue-in-cheek between us – denounce attacks on a religion only when it suits them and reinforces their own. That's unacceptable. No religion is superior to another. No religion is homogeneous and deserves to be stigmatized. No religion should be used as a pretext to stigmatize. But what is the far right doing in this Chamber, or on the TV sets? What does the extreme right, which opposes religions to each other, do? What is the far right doing, talking about the big replacement, or supporting Elon Musk's candidacy for the Sakharov Prize, when he is ready to defend incitement to hatred? The rise of religious intolerance must be fought at the source. We can talk about it, but we must also act here in the heart of the European Parliament. We cannot recall it enough, racism and religious discrimination are crimes, they are not opinions, and anyone who aligns with the ideas of the far right is also guilty of spreading religious intolerance. What makes Europe is the attachment to universal values. So it's a good idea to have this debate, but when are we going to apply it to ourselves, right here, to fight and eradicate hate speech and calls for discrimination? Opposing religions to each other is already hate speech. I call for no one here in this House to be allowed to do so.

Madam President, on 7 October, my thoughts are with the hostages, who have been waiting for their release for a year. They go to the families of the victims, for whom this day of commemoration is tragic, for whom October 7 will be an indelible mark. Hamas's appalling attack on Israel on that day must be remembered. October 7 is also the beginning of a spiral of violence throughout the region and of disproportionate reprisals. The Middle East is now on fire and bloodshed. The dead are piling up, violence is multiplying, inhumanity is repeating itself and we all lose. To Israel's 1,200 deaths are added more than 45,000 in Gaza and more than 2,000 in Lebanon. When will we stop? When will our Europe be able to stop this outpouring of hatred by demanding a ceasefire and defending international law? "The project of Europe was to make war impossible," said Robert Schuman. More than ever, with our resolute action, we must ensure that this promise is fulfilled.

Mr President, yesterday in our Chamber, this temple of European democracy, Afghan women testified. They also reminded us that from there, they speak to us every day. Because when they stand up to their executioners, they are not talking to them, but to the international community. They know that the executioners will remain deaf to their demands. They ask us not to forget them. They ask us to react. They warn us not to let extremists and their hatred flourish. They refuse to allow international law to collapse. They invoke our collective obligation to protect dignity. So, what are they telling us? They tell us: "Don't give in to the Taliban." No normalization, no support, never. Until this diet fell. They tell us to recognize gender apartheid. We must also denounce it at the international level, so that international law recognizes gender apartheid. And they tell us to protect them, to welcome them. Right now, hundreds of women are risking their lives in Afghanistan. In neighbouring countries, in Iran, Afghan women are beginning to be persecuted. Our duty, our dignity is to welcome and protect them. We must play our part in welcoming these women and granting them asylum protection.

Mr President, Mr High Representative, with this resolution we had a rare opportunity, a dream opportunity to get out of double standards. Yes, our honor is to firmly condemn the Iranian regime. But we should have condemned with the same force, with the same commitment, the behavior of Netanyahu's government. We missed this opportunity. What must prevail for Europeans, what must prevail for us MEPs, is our action for peace, de-escalation. We have no right to be shy in demanding de-escalation in the region. If the region burns, if Israel’s disproportionate attack goes beyond and affects neighbouring countries, it would be a disaster for the region. It would be a catastrophe for the world and for peace that we have so cherished. Then there is still time to make up for it and to call firmly, in this resolution, for a cease-fire, which is a precondition for leaving the flare-up. (The Chairman withdrew the floor to the speaker)

Mr President, Commissioner, it would seem that Parliament defends human rights a little too much for the Commission. The anomaly is that after two resolutions voted here condemning the action of the government of Sisi, you decided to contract for 7.5 billion. As this institution’s standing rapporteur on Egypt, I have consistently called for strong and precise conditionalities on this regime. At your sleight of hand, Mrs von der Leyen ended up receiving a very clear recommendation from the Council. The Council asks you to put in place concrete conditionalities in your report to the Sisi regime. If you have no ideas, I will tell you: lift censorship of independent media, release 60,000 prisoners, end pressure on civil society and opposition, protect sexual equality and the rights of minorities, migrants and refugees. Today, Commissioner, 18 women were arrested by the Sisi regime for protesting outside the UN office with a simple petition on the situation in Gaza and Sudan. Where are human rights in this country? Where are the commitments of this regime? After despising Parliament, will Mrs von der Leyen also despise the Council and its recommendations? Stop your hidden agenda. Stop this morbid project to transform the European Union into the World Bank of dictatorships and authoritarian regimes. Be at last at the rendezvous of our values and our principles.

Madam President, is there a limit to impunity? It is with this question that Netanyahu challenges us every day, with every bombing, with every new regional escalation: 35,000 dead, 10% of journalists killed in Gaza, humanitarians and hospitals targeted, mass graves, famine and this siege that reduces all hope. Every day, the government of Israel seems to confirm its genocidal will a little more. It ignores the injunctions of the ICJ and the international community. He isolates himself in murderous madness. There is an urgent need to stand with the pacifists and the civilian population. Condemn all those responsible for abuses and settlers, sanction, suspend the Association Agreement and fully support UNRWA, the international agency wrongly victim of unproven allegations. Mr High Representative, finally, thank you for standing by, thank you for upholding our values, thank you for helping to preserve some of our honour.

Madam President, forced labour is not a crime of the past. Dictatorship regimes use it every day and find a way to make human rights violations profitable. Companies go so far as to build their entire business model on the exploitation of poverty. That's 28 million victims worldwide and millions of products flooding our markets. An NGO has shown that since 2017, 600 million tonnes of fish from forced labour have been on our plates, right here in the European Parliament. This is totally unacceptable. With this legislation, we no longer need to worry about where the products we consume come from. Europe is now doing this; Europe protects us. The European market will therefore be protected from this unfair competition. Repressive states that engage in forced labour will see their profits decline. Unfortunately, we missed the requirement to compensate victims. The Greens will not abandon them. This is a fight that we are committed to continuing to the end, because it is our honour.

Mr President, it has been five months. Five months of total siege in Gaza. This seat, it has a name: it is a war crime. To the deaths under the bombs are now added the deaths of hunger. So I welcome the small step forward that this resolution represents, which finally denounces the humanitarian situation and calls for a ceasefire. But hypocrisy must be stopped. This Parliament still refuses to clearly name those responsible. There was no earthquake in Gaza. In Gaza, there was no flooding. In Gaza, there is a siege that is starving, that is wilfully wreaking havoc. There are women, children who are dying, people who have not had the means to care for themselves for five months. So stop the hypocrisy. Name those responsible, namely Israel and Netanyahu's government. Appoint those responsible, and vote on our amendment calling for a lifting of the total siege. I also solemnly ask you to urge Parliament to do everything possible to prevent genocide in Gaza. This is our responsibility, our values in the face of history.

Madam President, the absence of Oliver Várhelyi from this debate is an insult to our Parliament. At the passage in force, he adds the lie. He tells us that he paid EUR 150 million to the Tunisian Treasury under the EU-Tunisia Memorandum of Understanding. This is not true: these 150 million were planned for a long time to finance digital, governance and economic projects. It pays these 150 million without conditionality, because the conditionalities that are in this file are phantom conditionalities. This goes against the principles of our institution and respect for human rights. He went through an urgent procedure under the pretext of the economic crisis in Tunisia. However, by writing this $150 million blank check to Kaïs Saïed, he is financing a dictator and his electoral campaign, not Tunisia's food or democratic stability. That method is not exceptional, as he claims. The Memorandum of Understanding with Tunisia will become a model. On 17 March, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Egypt, once again, outside any democratic process. Right before our eyes, all our principles are collapsing. Mrs von der Leyen, if you look at us, stop it quickly, because it is our principles, our values and respect for our institution that are... (The President withdrew the floor to the speaker)

Madam President, the behaviour we have just experienced is intolerable. As chair of the meeting, you have the rules of procedure with sanctions. I am not satisfied with the co-worker's forced exit. I ask that the President be kept informed of this unacceptable behaviour. It is not tolerable to accept this behaviour, and the Rules of Procedure should lead to sanctions against the colleague. Disrupting the work of the European Parliament is not tolerable! I ask you to act!

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, last week the Commission announced that it would pay EUR 150 million to the Tunisian government, outside any democratic process. This 150 million is an unconditional check for a dictator who consolidated his power in a coup. On this payment, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Development, at a joint meeting, adopted by a large majority an oral question, which was sent to the European Commission. But the Commission refuses the debate in Parliament and hastened to pay the funds to Kaïs Saïed. Some MEPs have even been pressured to dismiss this debate in this plenary session. We are the embodiment of European democracy. We must not give in to these pressures. We cannot be complicit in what the Tunisian people are going through. I would ask you, as it is urgent to do so, to accept the AFET and DEVE oral question and the resolution on the adoption of the special measure in favour of Tunisia for 2023, and to add them to our agenda. Let's take the time, let's be serious and live up to it.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in fact the bombings in Gaza are already leading to despair. You are all talking here, ladies and gentlemen, about the Rafah attack as in the future, but that is already a reality. Israel is already bombing Rafah and the civilian population it had displaced. In Gaza, humanitarian aid is blocked by Israel and Egypt, and we are hesitant to support the entry of such aid. We encourage starvation and despair. In Gaza, since the decision of the International Court of Justice, there has been less humanitarian aid and more bombing of civilians. Today, we have a special responsibility. It is this week that Europe must pay the aid it owes to UNRWA. The only relevant question is: Are we going to do it or not? Mr Várhelyi's Europe, which has been trying for weeks and months to cut food, is not mine. She shouldn't be ours. Ursula von der Leyen must take responsibility. This week it must make a firm commitment to providing humanitarian aid, because in reality there is no other way to support children, women, the sick, the civilian population than to provide our aid. Are we going to be at the rendezvous of history? Are we going to assume our responsibilities? Are we finally going to make the right decisions? The rest are stories. The rest are speeches, the rest are interventions for each other's Instagrams. Commissioner, can you commit today before Parliament to ensure that this payment takes place?

Mr President, torture, enforced disappearances, unfair trials, executions: there is arbitrariness in Iran. On 23 January, Mohammad Ghobadlou and Farhad Salimi were executed. Tomorrow, so many more are at risk of being subjected to the regime’s bloodthirsty folly. Faced with her own people and the power of the peaceful movement "Woman! Life! Freedom!", the Islamic Republic of Iran wavers and sinks into repression. More than 8 000 people executed in 2023, already 54 in 2024 – and it is only 7 February! The European Union condemns, the European Union sanctions, the European Union supports civil society. It can and must do more and better for the Iranian people. When it wants to, the European Union knows how to use its levers for action. It can and should do so as soon as the oppression of a people is at stake.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, last Thursday in France, a woman of Jewish faith complained of anti-Semitic violence by a person holding public authority. Images show police officers humiliating him and ripping off his wig. Free violence, feeling of total impunity: the incident is not isolated. Every effort must be made to ensure that it does not become ordinary. France is regularly blamed for racial discrimination and police violence. Islamophobia, racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia: we are now faced with acts that are becoming commonplace, and the State undeniably bears responsibility. Populist and far-right media, hate debates, stigma, discrimination, unfair laws such as the one on immigration, the Macron government’s game is dangerous for French democracy. Our executives have resigned in the face of a thriving far-right. In the face of intolerance and violence, the European project remains, I am convinced, our best bulwark. The EU must require Member States to comply with their obligations to: protect, educate, punish or rehabilitate victims. This is the road map that we here have a duty to promote.

Mr President, 100 days of war. A total war. An atrocious war. How do we get there? How can you continue to watch what is happening in Gaza without moving, without reacting? I was already asking this question in December. A month later, more civilians, more children and women were killed, more journalists fell at the front, more ambulances were targeted, more hospitals closed, more homes were demolished. And it is not just the bombings. There is a siege, a total, inhuman siege, which alone constitutes a war crime. One month later, more children were amputated, more women had caesarean sections without anesthesia, more hunger, more cold, more despair. So yes, Mrs. Loiseau, we must call for a permanent ceasefire now. Above all, however, it must be imposed, sanctions must be imposed and elements of genocide must not be allowed to take hold. It is no longer time to ask the question of the balance of positions in this conflict. It is not balanced: There's an occupant, there's an occupied one. You have to be against occupation, you have to be firm, you have to make decisions, you have to be committed, because that is also politics.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, behind these names and acronyms of MiFIR and MiFID lie very real and major issues for the lives of people across Europe. As my colleague Karima, the shadow rapporteur on this delicate issue, has said, the texts that have come out of it will indeed have a very concrete impact on the wallets of our fellow citizens, and we can congratulate ourselves on the victories achieved by the family of environmentalists here. In my work in our institution's ECON committee for several months, I have read and heard from experts pointing to the role of unlimited speculation and market manipulation in extreme price increases that we have experienced since 24 February 2022 and the outbreak of this war by Putin in Ukraine. How many millions of the most vulnerable people have been forced to ask for a staggered bill and have been forced not to heat themselves or to make cuts in their daily budget, to be able to pay their bills for heating, electricity like last winter and the current winter. According to Oxfam's annual report on inequality just released today, 99% of Europe's population has become poorer in the last three years. Yes, 99% of the European population has become poorer in the last three years. No, financial speculation is not the only cause of this inflation, but yes, it has played a role that no one can seriously deny. And yet, this factor has been completely neglected by the European Commission and has simply been ignored by the right-wing groups in this Chamber, who are too busy defending the interests of big business. The provision that my group made in the circuit breaker, this ability given to market authorities to suspend operations on given products in the event of significant volatility, makes it possible to mitigate, if not completely annihilate, this problem significantly. However, the subject is far from being closed and much remains to be done. In our next term, we will be there to ensure that large non-financial companies that act as unscrupulous speculators are indeed subject to the same rules as traders. As early as 2025, we will fight to build real barriers against commodity speculation. Like my colleague Karima, I therefore call on you to support this text.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, our youth in Europe is becoming poorer. In France, the category of young people who need to use food aid has increased by 13% in one year, and 39% of our young people are forced to continue living with their parents. For those who cannot, it is misery. But what future are we preparing for? We have a responsibility to empower our young people with dignity. Today, in France, environmental senator Monique de Marco is tabling a bill to ensure that young people have a social safety net between the ages of 18 and 25. Indeed, the French system is aberrant: it does not propose to this category, no safety, no net, nothing. Commissioner, allow Europe to ensure the right to housing by putting an end to the financialisation of this sector, to ensure equality by banning unpaid traineeships, to extend the right to a minimum income for our young people. Helping youth should not be a promise of charity. This must be a bet for dignified emancipation and for a more democratic future in Europe.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I sincerely ask you: What are we waiting for to call for a ceasefire? Do we need more deaths? We already have 17,000. Do we need twice as many? Three times more? Four times more? Should we starve the people of Gaza even more? They are already no longer receiving aid, and UNRWA no longer has the means. Do we need more journalists killed? We already have 80. How many do you need? Twice as much? Three times more? Four times more? A Europe of human rights cannot remain blind and silent in the face of gross violations of human rights. In the name of what are we looking at, without doing anything, the settler violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem? In the name of what do we allow Israel to so defy international law? If Europe holds the two-state solution, it must act and it has the means to do so, like the United States, by calling for sanctions against extremist settlers. Let's freeze their possessions! Europe needs to be brought into line with international law on settlement products. The ICC investigation must be supported. This is what we need to do urgently, right now.