Speeches

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, in the regions of the Union bordering Russia, let us not forget Georgia, where I have come from. It is not the European Union, but a country whose population claims to belong to the European family, which has written in its Constitution its firm desire to join the European Union, and which the European Union has supported for 16 years with nearly 100 million euros per year and the presence of EUMM and NATO. Nevertheless, Georgia has had a pro-Russian government since November, following major electoral irregularities. No longer having this country in our area of influence poses a triple threat to the European Union: the first, the loss of a strategic ally that allows us to have an appreciation of unique situations at the gates of Europe; the second, the risk to the security of a friendly country, Armenia; The third is a political victory for Russia. What is the best support that the European Union can give to this country? It's being credible, which means being much stronger at deterring and keeping our promises. With Ukraine, we have discredited ourselves in the face of Putin, in my opinion. It also means being more independent, especially when you want to defend the independence of others. Being credible means, right now, increasing our defence budgets, spending on the European market and not American or South Korean, being sincere between European countries, creating a European pillar within NATO, defending our European champions and having sovereign digital infrastructures independent of GAFAM.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, on 16 November 2024, Boualem Sansal, a 75-year-old Franco-Algerian writer, multi-award-winning novelist and winner of the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française in 2015, was arrested in Algiers. Extremely ill, he was hospitalized several times. His life is in danger. His crime? Try to understand what is happening in your country and say it. This imprisonment is not an isolated case. According to Amnesty International, nearly 300 political prisoners are being held in Algerian prisons. The crackdown on journalists, activists and religious minorities has intensified. Last week, 47 Christian churches were closed under seal. My knowledge of this country, in my previous duties, invites me to alert you to the worrying deterioration of the situation. It is unthinkable to allow this regime to further intimidate Algerian and European citizens. A Parliament resolution can really save Boualem Sansal's life. In May 2023, we secured the release of Algerian journalist Ihsane El Kadi through a resolution. Our silence would therefore be complicity. With François-Xavier Bellamy, I call on you to support this resolution and to vote tomorrow noon for the immediate and unconditional release of the Frenchman Boualem Sansal. In addition, the agreement between Europe and Algeria, signed in 2005 and in which Algeria undertakes to respect democratic principles and fundamental rights, is being renewed. The resolution stresses that this renewal, like the European funds granted, will henceforth be based on the country's democratic progress. Finally, I would like to point out that this resolution enjoyed the exceptional support of all the political groups in Parliament during yesterday's negotiating meeting. It is a demonstration of unity that will, I hope, save the life of a righteous man.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, our world order is being shaken up by Donald Trump. 350 million Americans are no longer willing to pay for 450 million Europeans. Where is Europe? Some are unsubscribing from X, others are already playing American rather than European solidarity. Trump is moving forward without a mask: He wants to divide us and turn us into a market place for Americans. I therefore call for a European awakening and sincere cooperation between us. To buy more American in Europe is to destroy any hope of strategic autonomy. Take the example of space: These are our data, our navigation, our communications, our observation of the Earth. Without space, Ukraine could no longer wage war. Our autonomy in space should therefore be our priority, and our cooperation a matter of course. Still, what's going on? Our champions are in trouble. In 2024, the Italian Vega launched two rockets, the French ArianeGroup only one, when SpaceX launches one every two and a half days. What are we waiting for to concentrate our forces and prioritise the use of our European launchers? Finally, having them is good, provided that you also know how to protect them. This is a related topic, to be dealt with as a matter of urgency.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, disinformation has always been a weapon. It is part of what is now called cyber warfare. The Internet is now a natural place of conflict for modern armies. Some EU countries have cyber military units. France itself has a cyber command. As a soldier, I can tell you that this weapon is a strategic weapon, because it has the means today to tip a conflict and influence international relations, or even to decide the outcome of an election. In other words, the scandal is not that Putin distorts history, falsifies information and develops a narrative to justify his war – we are indeed in the midst of an information war. No, the scandal, in my opinion, is that we count the points too much without taking action. We seek too little to know what is really going on and to cross-reference our information. Why, for example, do we not rely more on the Intcen, the European Union’s intelligence agency, which feeds on information from the agencies of the Member States? Knowing better what is happening autonomously, without being influenced by others, would allow us to act better. The scandal is also that we do not have a counter-narrative. What is our war of influence, and what tools do we have, we who do not even have powerful and sovereign social networks? This should be our priority to protect our democracies.

Mr President, Madam High Representative, ladies and gentlemen, the consequences of the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime are geopolitical, but they are also human, with a real risk of this country continuing to fragment: the Alawites in the west with the Russians, the Free Syrian Army in the north, the Kurds in the north-east, the Druze in the south, the HTC in the centre, the Christians in the big cities, not to mention the Daesh fighters spread throughout the country. Behind an appearance of calm transition, the country remains plunged into chaos. Tensions are ubiquitous, Israel continues its raids on the military bases of the former Syrian army, Kurdish and pro-Turkish militias are fighting in the north, assassinations continue, looting is ongoing, not to mention the Americans hitting Daesh bases. I repeat: Let us not be naive and, above all, let us remain cautious: The HTC has given us no evidence of its distance from Islamist terrorism, from which it originated. Turkey is expanding its influence, and we can see where this imperialist resurgence can lead – just talk to our Cypriot friends. In this divided country, Kurds, Christians and women will, believe me, be the main victims of a regime that does not yet say its name. Beyond sending a representative of the European Union, it is essential to deploy an observer mission and, above all, to maintain sanctions against that country as long as we do not have a fairer view of what is happening there.