What Bernard spoke about.

10

Apr

2024

EN Speech

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Russia's undemocratic presidential elections and their illegitimate extension to the occupied territories (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, it would be nice to listen a little bit. Just a little bit. Thank you. Just a question of politeness. I will start. – Madame la Présidente, Président de la Fédération de Russie, oui, vous l’êtes bel et bien, Monsieur Poutine. Vous l’êtes, hélas, encore et toujours; car ce sont bien vos ambitions impériales qui ont fait renaître la guerre en Europe et mis le monde …

12

Mar

2024

FR Speech

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Council and Commission statements - Preparation of the European Council meeting of 21 and 22 March 2024 (debate)

Mr President, you, our Heads of State or Government, are the real power, not the only one, but the most decisive, and by far. Then speak true! Speak true, because the situation requires it, from Ukraine to Gaza. First, say that nothing is excluded, nothing in our determination not to let aggression prevail in Ukraine. Don’t be afraid to scare Putin. Don’t be afraid to scare Putin! Let our 450 mill…

28

Feb

2024

FR Speech

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The murder of Alexei Navalny and the need for EU action in support of political prisoners and oppressed civil society in Russia (debate)

Monsieur le Président, mes chers collègues, le courage a un nom: His name is Navalny! The courage that this man has shown – the courage to brave death with laughter, smiles and irony, to change history by defying a tyrant, a war-monger, a liar and a murderer – calls on us Europeans not to fail. We must tell these elected Trumpists that every day they cover themselves with a little more Ukrainian b…

27

Feb

2024

FR Speech

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War in the Gaza Strip and the need to reach a ceasefire, including recent developments in the region (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we do not have one, but two emergencies. The European Union must not only arm Ukraine and rearm itself, it must also make its voice heard in the Middle East, where it does not count politically, even though it is economically all there, being both Israel’s largest trading partner and the largest donor of aid to Palestine. Even though it is the most ardent defend…

6

Feb

2024

FR Speech

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The need for unwavering EU support for Ukraine, after two years of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, he was planning to enter Kiev in three days and what is the state of play? Two years later, Vladimir Putin holds only 17.5% of Ukrainian territory and controls neither the Black Sea nor Crimea. It is called a defeat, but how can we help the Ukrainians turn it into a victory? Well, it is up to our 27 leaders – we must – to tell our nations that we are at war, not…

12

Dec

2023

FR Speech

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Need to release all hostages, to achieve a humanitarian ceasefire and prospect of the two-state solution (debate)

Mr President, for us, peace is not just a moral duty, it is also a necessity. We owe peace to the Israelis and the Palestinians, but we also owe it to our 27 peoples, since this war is being exported to the EU, it is frustrating the necessary co-development on both shores of the Mediterranean and it is fuelling instability in our neighbourhoods. So, it is no longer enough to hammer: “Two States.” …

22

Nov

2023

FR Speech

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Humanitarian situation in Gaza, the need for the release of hostages and for an immediate humanitarian truce leading to a ceasefire and the prospects for peace and security in the Middle East (debate)

Mr President, in our 27 capitals, in Washington and in all the countries of the Arab League, we are talking only about the two Israeli and Palestinian states. Many do not want to believe it, but Palestine will indeed emerge alongside the State of Israel for the simple reason that there is no other solution to this 100-year war. But who, it is said, will expel the 500,000 settlers? Well, a minority…

18

Oct

2023

FR Speech

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The despicable terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel, Israel’s right to defend itself in line with humanitarian and international law and the humanitarian situation in Gaza (debate)

Mr President, I want to believe that we will be unanimous in voting tomorrow for this joint resolution on the Israeli and Palestinian tragedies. I hope so, although this text is too long, too long, because we actually only have three things to say. The first is that we are repulsed by this Hamas killing. The second is that the punishment of a crime cannot be collective punishment. The third is tha…

17

Oct

2023

FR Speech

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Effectiveness of the EU sanctions on Russia (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, let us say the obvious: no single economic sanction against any regime has ever brought an economy to its knees. This is now true of Russia as it was of South Africa, but international sanctions are nevertheless one of the most daunting weapons, as they stifle industries, multiply financial difficulties and force their targets to a permanent quest for random and…

4

Oct

2023

FR Speech

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The case of Zarema Musaeva in Chechnya

Mr President, the most extraordinary thing is that in Chechnya, in these lands of absolute arbitrariness, torture and political assassination, there are still people as courageous as Mrs Moussaïeva to stand up against Ramzan Kadyrov, the man-eater whom Putin has made his watchdog. Because no, she's not alone. There are also her three sons, her husband, a former judge of the Supreme Court, and many…

12

Sep

2023

FR Speech

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Iran: one year after the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini (debate)

Mr President, why so many gibets? Why was Iran already at 250 hangings at the beginning of the summer? Why does this military theocracy continue to kill at such a rate? This regime is afraid. He has every reason to be afraid, because for 26 years, since a reformer, Mohammad Khatami, was elected President of the Republic, the protest has never stopped in that country. The repression has never stopp…

12

Sep

2023

FR Speech

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Question Time (VPC/HR) - Situation in West and Central Africa in the light of the recent coups d’état

Mr High Representative, contrary to popular belief, the Mediterranean Sea is not a sea. The Mare Nostrum is an inland lake, an Eurafrican lake that unites indissolubly, sometimes tragically, our two continents. To this extent, we are forced to perform miracles. You said earlier: "you ask me to do...", well yes! You are asked, we ask; we ask ourselves to work miracles and, of course, to consider la…

12

Jul

2023

FR Speech

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Resumption of the sitting

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, please give me a minute’s attention. I just wanted to tell you, for those who don't know it yet, that Milan Kundera died a few moments ago. Milan Kundera is certainly one of the greatest writers of the second half of the 20th century. It also embodied the unity of Europe. He was one of the great figures of the Prague Spring. He was one of the great figures in…

12

Jul

2023

FR Speech

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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 29-30 June 2023, in particular the recent developments in the war against Ukraine and in Russia (debate)

Mr President, yes, but one day. Yeah, but later. Yeah, but not now. NATO, led by the United States, was much more reluctant yesterday to open its doors to Ukraine than the European Union is going to do. While the EU did not commit to anything, in addition to granting candidate status to Ukraine more than a year ago and the last Council being particularly clear about the willingness of the 27 to st…

19

Apr

2023

FR Speech

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Repression in Russia, in particular the cases of Vladimir Kara-Murza and Alexei Navalny

Madam President, we admire the courage, the heroism with which these two men, Alexei Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Mourza, brave Vladimir Putin to make Russia’s voice heard. But that is not the only reason why we defend them and demand their release. These men are not only valiant, they are also indispensable: their country, Europe and the world. For, if this war lasts, Russia will soon be threatened …

17

Apr

2023

FR Speech

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Order of business

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I wanted to express the wish, on my own behalf and on behalf of my group, that our vote in support of this draft resolution be as massive as possible, perhaps unanimously. Let's dream. Because 25 years in prison for a crime of opinion, a desire at the highest level of the state that a political prisoner does not come out alive from his detention, we cannot ad…

14

Mar

2023

FR Speech

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Deterioration of democracy in Israel and consequences on the occupied territories (debate)

Mr President, it is so sad that it would almost be ironic. Ironically, it could be said that here it is. Israel is finally integrating into the Middle East, as its parliamentary majority only aspires to replicate the political model of the regimes around it. But no! Unfortunately, there is no irony, because this state, which our Union supports because it is the only democracy in the region, could …

15

Feb

2023

FR Speech

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The recent deterioration of the inhuman imprisonment conditions of Alexey Navalny and other political prisoners in Russia

Madam President, in all latitudes, all criminal codes say so: It is a crime, Mr Putin, to detain an innocent person between four walls, an innocent person, moreover, who had been vainly tried to poison. Yes, your crime has been established, but now you are committing an even more serious one. With isolation, harassment and denial of medical care, you slowly assassinate Alexei Navalny. This opponen…

14

Feb

2023

FR Speech

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Response to the situation in Tunisia (debate)

Mr President, Tunisia is no stranger to us: it is so closely linked to the history of France, Italy and all of Europe that we owe it the same duties as we owe it to a sister or brother. Before leading the way in the Arab Spring of 2011, Tunisia had been able to negotiate its independence without resentment or violence. Habib Bourguiba, its liberator, then had to give Tunisian women the most libera…

17

Jan

2023

FR Speech

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EU response to the protests and executions in Iran (debate)

Madam President, why is he hanging so many young people? To scare, of course. To dissuade men and women, parents and children from taking to the streets shouting their rejection of his regime. But that is not all. If he needs terror so much, it is because this cornered old man, with his back to the wall, no longer has any other cards to play. The most distant provinces are as mobilized as the larg…

22

Nov

2022

FR Speech

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EU response to the increasing crackdown on protests in Iran (debate)

Madam President, there will never be any normalisation in Iran. It is now impossible to return to the status quo ante because the protests have become too widespread and the repression too harsh for this regime to take matters into its own hands. Theocracy is in agony, but tomorrow? It is not impossible that the scenes of fraternisation between demonstrators and police officers will multiply and t…

5

Oct

2022

FR Speech

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Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression against Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the question today is where we stand. On the Ukrainian side, the counter-offensive was a tremendous success, since after the advances from the East, the liberation troops were now advancing towards Kherson. On the Russian side, on the other hand, a political debacle is added to the military debacle. Senior regime officials are publicly accusing each other of neg…

4

Oct

2022

FR Speech

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The death of Mahsa Amini and the repression of women's rights protesters in Iran (debate)

Mr. Speaker, 500, 800, 3,000 or more dead. We know alas that you will not skimp, you pasdarans and other bassidjis to keep your power. Yes, this popular revolt, this revolt of women defending women and freedom can probably be crushed by your weapons. But it's not said. And beware, beware of you, profiteers and defenders of this regime! For remember, remember the crowds gathered by the 1997 preside…

6

Jul

2022

FR Speech

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The arrest of Cardinal Zen and the trustees of the 612 relief fund in Hong Kong

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Kiev is not Hong Kong, Taiwan is not Ukraine, China is not Russia. As we all know, this is a matter of course. But beyond these differences of nation, geography, culture, let us see reality. The reality is that in both Beijing and Moscow we face regimes that want to destroy democracy, that want to ensure the triumph of dictatorship over freedom, that want to …

19

May

2022

FR Speech

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The fight against impunity for war crimes in Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the outburst of barbarism we are witnessing today in Ukraine is unfortunately not new in the 21st century. Let us remember what happened in Aleppo. Let us remember what happened in the whole of Syria ruled by an ally of Mr Putin. It was the same, it was the same. And that is why today, when we lay the groundwork – because that is what we are doing …