Speeches

Madam President, when I was 20, I joined the Green Party because of their commitment to combating all forms of discrimination, anti-Semitism and equal rights. I did so because I grew up with the nagging discourse of the extreme right, which, as here in this House, kept repeating "You are, you immigrants, the problem of France and Europe", thus erasing their contribution to the reconstruction and liberation of Europe. Today, this discourse reduces citizens to an ethnic identity, to a religious identity. It weakens citizenship so much that researchers have shown that young people are leaving Europe because of this atmosphere. If we want to fight intolerance in Europe, if we want a united Europe, let us stop these speeches of rejection.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I come from a region that has suffered the brunt of deindustrialization, losing tens of thousands of jobs. Is it the fault of ecology? No. On the contrary, in my region today, entrepreneurs are investing thanks to Europe. They create jobs in the decarbonized automobile. They could go even further in the just and inclusive transition. We must support them in the long term. Supporting them also means protecting them from unfair competition and questionable business practices. I am astonished, even indignant, that when it comes to taking action to protect workers with more controls and revised tariffs, some countries or political groups in this House, right here, are backing down and using ecology as a scapegoat. For a more robust and sustainable car industry, for our workers, Europe must remain offensive and supportive.

Mr President, if you are an SME and you do not pay tax, you will be sanctioned in a very short time, several months, a year at most. If you are a craftsman who manufactures soap from Marseille, for example, you will have fraud control several times a year. But if you are a digital giant, e-commerce, it takes years to restore the law and establish fairer, more loyal tax rules. The ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union is excellent news and an encouragement to end impunity for illegal business practices. We hope that others will follow, for example against the sites ofultra-fast fashion the questionable practices that now employ former European Commissioners as public relations officers. Those who cheat with European rules must be controlled and sanctioned, they must pay or leave.

Mr President, I come from a region that was hit by major floods a few months ago. Floods in Central and Eastern Europe and West Africa are tragedies. I express my solidarity with the victims and all those who help them. Many have said today, these events are not anomalies, they will happen again. Prevention, adaptation and the fight against climate change must be accelerated. Yet here yesterday, with the Draghi report, the Commission displayed its number one priority: competitiveness. This is a real contradiction, because it is striking that in this report no mention is made of the management of water, natural resources, biodiversity or ecosystems without which, as we know, there can be no prosperous and sustainable future for Europe. So let's be consistent. To prevent these disasters from happening again, to save lives, it is crucial to accelerate the Green Deal and the just transition. It is crucial that we invest massively in an economy rooted in the territories and that takes into account planetary boundaries.