Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, for want of vision, Europe, the land of so many medical geniuses, is no longer capable of caring for its own. The ageing of the population and the massive influx of immigrant populations have led to a sharp increase in health needs, a predictable phenomenon. What to do? Shorten the training of doctors, which varies from 5 to 10 years depending on the country, and integrate artificial intelligence that will revolutionize the sector. Encourage young people to pursue careers in medicine and engineering rather than social sciences. Delegate more medical procedures, reduce bureaucracy and regulation. Reduce training costs. Invest in doctors rather than expensive teleconsultation booths. Finally, let us stop tapping into the medical resources of the Maghreb, Asia and Africa. It's inhumane. We are depriving these countries of caregivers, which is fuelling migration. Yes, dear colleagues, when their doctors come, their patients follow.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, the major demographic challenge requires a determined response. What are the barriers to parenting? Economic uncertainty, financial insecurity, excessive rents, difficult access to property, infertility problems, growing insecurity and eco-anxiety. All this pushes more and more young people to give up having children. What should we do? Putting demography at the heart of our priorities. There is a need to better protect women’s professional careers, value motherhood, support families from the first child and increase the number of crèches and childcare facilities, regulate short-term rentals to free up housing and take the problem of infertility seriously. Colleagues, after the First World War, despite heavy losses, Europe was able to cope with demographic challenges. I, Malika, say to you: In many ways, immigration is not a solution. Let us give young people confidence in their future and we will succeed in meeting this demographic challenge.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Parliament is giving lessons in democracy to the whole world, but is it credible in this role? The answer is no. It violates the fundamental principles of democracy. Defending democracy means respecting universal suffrage and pluralism. Here, the d’Hondt system was breached, and our colleague Roman Haider was prevented from chairing the Committee on Transport and I was prevented from chairing the Committee on Culture. Another paradox: the European Union stands as the guardian of democracy, and at the same time attacks freedom of expression, which is consubstantial to it. On the basis of suspicions of manipulation on social networks, she supports the annulment of citizens’ choice in Romania. With the use of tools such as the Digital Services Act, the EU intends to monitor democratic processes. Colleagues, in 2022, at Stanford, Barack Obama himself declared that he was an absolute defender of the First Amendment, which, according to him, enshrines freedom of expression at the heart of any democratic society. I encourage you, colleagues, to meditate on Barack Obama's wise words.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Boualem Sansal is a brother, a friend. He has never felt an ounce of hatred towards anyone, much less towards Algeria and the Algerians he deeply loves. What is happening to him is based on a terrible misunderstanding that we must succeed in removing. Boualem is an Algerian citizen and a French citizen. We owe him assistance and protection and that is why, from the very first moment, our highest political and diplomatic authorities were fully mobilized. His brilliant career and intellectual commitment command respect. An engineer at the École Polytechnique d'Alger, he is the winner of the Grand Prix du Roman of the Académie française as well as the prestigious Prix des libraires allemandes. It is inhabited by a deep faith in the ability of man to surpass himself to reach out to all others. He is an enlightened mind, a true humanist. Colleagues, those who today are trying to use this tragedy to express their hostility towards Algeria and Algerians are serving the cause of Boualem Sansal. I therefore call on everyone to exercise restraint so as not to hinder and jeopardize the efforts that are currently being made to help them. Boualem, here in the European Parliament, we think very strongly of you. We hope that the political authorities of Algeria, this beautiful land that I have known, will be able to advocate reconciliation and seize the hand extended to them to build together a better future for all.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, there is the international aspect, with the sexual apartheid imposed on Iranian or Afghan women – and I would like to welcome the commitment of the Women’s International Law League, created by Simone de Beauvoir – but there is also what is happening in Europe. In France, according to the Women's Foundation, a woman is a victim of rape or attempted rape every seven minutes. Despite slippages, the #metoo movement is undoubtedly a turning point for our societies. Yet, almost everywhere in Europe, we deplore an increase in violence against women. To better serve the cause of women, we need the courage to break some taboos – I stress two. First, mothers have a decisive role to play. We are the ones who educate our sons. To understand what is at stake, one need only read the ethnologist Camille Lacoste-Dujardin or the Egyptian psychiatrist Nawal El-Saadawi, who fought against female genital mutilation of girls. From now on, these tragedies can be found here in Europe. Second, representation, over-representation of immigration. In France, I worked for the highest state authorities, and we had all the numbers. Let us have a thought here for the victims of New Year’s Eve 2016 in Cologne and for the young Sohan, who died at the age of 17 and was burned alive in an immigration district. Colleagues, we need to do much more to help women’s victim support organisations. But, I tell you, if we persist in acting on the consequences without really caring about the root causes, then violence will continue to increase.

Your EPP colleague, Mrme Düpont, just told us a few moments ago that the EPP was in favour of the distribution of illegal migrants across the Member States of the European Union; She even spoke of the principle of solidarity. Do you confirm that, Mr. Bellamy?

Madam President, today the world is in turmoil, war is raging. This should inspire us to a great deal of modesty and wisdom. I ask you, Madam President, to enforce the Rules of Procedure. As a Member of the European Parliament, we do not have the right to display political signs. The Palestinian keffieh throws oil on the fire, keeps us from thinking. Removing it is not enough, it must be banished from this Chamber. Please, Madam President, no more political symbol! As parliamentarians, we must set an example and think calmly. It is about the life and death of citizens all over the world. So let us respect what is asked of us. The Palestinian keffieh has no place in the hemicycle.

(FR) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, 34% of Europeans give up medical care, and many young people our young people, are in great suffering. This is the third worldisation of our nations. The Europe of Hippocrates, Pasteur and Marie Curie is no longer even capable of caring for its own people, while it makes non-European preference a dogma. As poverty affects each of our nations, the Commission will provide €1.8 billion to Moldova. Moreover, immigration from the poorest sections of society is breaking records. For Enrico Letta, no reform, no progress will be possible without the participation of citizens. This participation, I tell you, is impossible, because these conditions are not met. Let's review Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Do we want people to be virtuous? So let's start by making them love the homeland: But how will they love it if the homeland only grants them what it cannot refuse to anyone?’ We are here at the heart of the evil that is destroying Europe. Colleagues, I would like to understand: Is it indifference – or worse: cynicism – which leads us to lament about the poverty we are organising?

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, how much religious intolerance are we talking about? As early as September 1991, European migration ministers warned that, for many immigrants, cultural identity was largely confused with religion and that problems could arise when immigrants' religious practices were contrary to the traditions of the host society. The real question, then, is the hierarchy of rights. In the name of religious freedom, are we ready to renounce individual freedom, equality between men and women and the dignity of women, as Tunisian Islamologist Abdelwahab Meddeb was deeply concerned when he gave the true meaning and political significance of women's veiling? In the seventeenth century, after wars of religion that tore Europe apart, the philosopher John Locke warned of the consequences of identification through the wearing of religious symbols, which gives men, he said, the opportunity to count themselves. He feared the emergence of sedition actions that jeopardized civil peace. How can the European Commission not see that Europe is sinking today, every day more, into a new war of religion? So, are we facing a rise in religious intolerance or determined resistance from our peoples in the face of imported obscurantism and unbridled proselytism? This resistance testifies to the deep attachment of our European peoples to our fundamental principles. Ladies and gentlemen, let us not stand still, even though it is the historical continuity of the European peoples that is being played out before our eyes today.