Speeches

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, let us not tell a story. The looting of the DRC’s natural resources probably represents ten times the international and humanitarian aid to this torn country. Let’s not tell ourselves a story: no terrorist group, no armed group, can survive for long if a state does not provide it with supplies, training places and places to rearm. It is easy to denounce those responsible, but very clearly, multinationals and Western companies that buy at low prices, without taking any account of the working conditions and the inhuman conditions of capture of natural resources in Congo, must be deprived of their source of food. As we know, some of Congo's neighbouring countries that do not have these resources on their territory are among the world's leading exporters. Let's make no mistake about the target! Western multinationals plundering Congo must be primarily responsible for a situation they maintain.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as we know, the oceans are in a much worse state than our territories. The oceans, this precious common good for humanity, cannot be the place for all looting and ransacking. I have been too close to Tamil fishermen, Vezo communities, Bugis or Bajau fishermen, such as Breton fishermen or Mediterranean fishermen, not knowing that we will not save the oceans without the interest of local people, without their mobilisation and without their association. That is why we must be ambitious to end industrial fishing models that empty the oceans of their fish and reduce local fishermen to despair. The issue of dolphin catches on the French coast comes mainly from the fact that dolphins can no longer feed on the high seas and are forced to come to the coast to collect their food. We must therefore think about the revision of the law of the sea. We need to think about diversifying fishermen's income, in particular through the cultivation of algae. We must also think about putting an end to the appropriation and privatisation of life that large industrial companies are engaged in today.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the peacock was the emblem of India, it will be the tiger. It was ‘India’, it will be ‘Bharat’. India affirms the unity of its model of life for all its citizens in the name of ‘Hindutva’. That is why I believe that cooperation with India must go far beyond trade, economic and commercial issues. We need to work on political cooperation because, while President Emmanuel Macron has theorised strategic autonomy, Narendra Modi is realising it. India’s policy of multi-alignment, the policy of pursuing its own national interest, which makes India the fastest developing country of all the major countries in the world, must inspire us to engage in political cooperation beyond economic cooperation. In a mutual respect that excludes any lesson-giving posture, we have to work with India for the advent of a world that is no longer unipolar, bipolar and probably not multipolar, the ‘non-polar’ world of respect for diversity, respect for the freedom of peoples, which is also the path to peace.

Mr President, Commissioner, much has been said about what is not yet a war of rare earths or rare metals, but is already a race for the necessary raw materials. For my part, I would like to highlight four points that I consider essential. The first point is that the price is not enough. We are not in economic relations, in market relations, in competition: we are clearly in power relations, and dealing with them requires the European Union and European nations to be able to clearly state their priorities and assert power relations on the ground. My second point is the role of innovation. Do not allow ourselves to be trapped in situations where, for certain products and technologies, we would be excessively dependent on a single country or area of supply. Innovation can help us find alternatives. Third point: a scarcely discussed rarity is that of land. Healthy, fertile land is becoming a rarity. Nature restoration is a priority in Europe. Last but not least: Let us not allow ourselves to be locked in by geopolitical interests that are not our own. Let us not allow ourselves to be locked into wars that are not our own or conflicts that are not in our interest. Only the European interest and the European nations must prevail.

Madam President, Commissioner, I hope that this COP in Dubai will make history. Afterwards, in their adolescence, all Emirati children, such as Omani or Saudi, are invited to spend a few weeks or months in the desert to experience the reality of their territory, of a millenary culture of adaptation to an extreme climate and the singular ability to adapt to that climate. This COP will go down in history if it ends with the artificialisation, standardisation and standardisation of our responses to climate change. Nowhere on earth are there the same consequences and nowhere on earth does it call for the same solutions. Of course, we must relaunch nuclear power and its "net-zero emissions". Of course, we must start the fight against climate change, but just as much the fight for the adaptation of populations. Diversity is our human condition, and it is up to each people, nation and state to find solutions based on their geography, history and traditions. Let’s find the diversity of our practices and our know-how in our territories, this is the localist way of ecological progress.

Mr President, Commissioner, for all those concerned about the price of petrol at the pump and the price of heating this winter, it is certainly not a time for complacency. The irrational preference for renewables is causing energy price inflation to become structural. Intermediaries, who have lost their identity in passing, are unjustly enriched by reselling Russian gas and oil. The technical impasses that are being made, particularly on nuclear micro-power plants, but also on clean gas – which could well be the energy of the 21st century – but also on smart electricity grids, risk penalising the competitiveness of our businesses and also the prices paid for energy by our households. But the error seems to me to be of a more serious nature. This is an error as to the very nature of the competing markets. On energy, national systems, national operators, and different climatic and territorial conditions compete first. We allow private companies everything we prohibit national operators from: a localist and responsible approach. The basics of competition need to be relaunched and an assessment made of what would be gained by countries that, like Portugal or Spain, regain their independence from European energy prices, which are a subsidy to countries that have made the wrong choices. I am thinking in particular of Germany.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, let us not be mistaken. What distinguishes a green bond from an ordinary bond contract? Nothing. The liquidity requirement is the same. The calculation of the risk-return ratio is the same and the investor’s return requirement is the same. This means that green bonds are an opportunity for market finance to tackle the environmental issue. It must be made clear that market finance is not the solution to financing environmental issues, it is the problem. The performance requirements of market finance are incompatible with the ecological transition, with the financing of large ecological projects. Quite clearly, the answer is of a different nature than the issuance of bonds on the international market. This is the case for local financing, where the return is first and foremost social and community. It is the promotion of common goods that are not appropriate and should not be subject to financial appropriation. Finally, it is the overhaul of a financial area that is now primarily responsible for the ecological crisis and which, under no circumstances, can provide solutions to the financing of the ecological crisis.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it is a serious matter for an assembly like ours to call into question the judicial system of a sovereign country and to call into question its freedom to govern itself. I will not remind you of Bangladesh’s complicated history: the crimes against humanity that marked its war of independence, the remarkable progress today in terms of growth and development, including the training of young people, which make it one of the driving forces of Southeast Asia. Nor will I mention the generosity of Bangladesh in hosting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from nearby Burma. I would simply like to point out that by encouraging external interference, by interfering in the functioning of institutions, which are certainly to be perfected, but which in the region remain marked by a democratic functioning on which we must be careful, we can achieve the opposite result of what we are pursuing. Strengthening institutions, consolidating Bangladesh's legitimacy and sovereignty must be our goal. Beware of interferences, beware of manipulations of which we can be objects.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, one day I was meeting a Breton farmer in Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys, who stopped producing cereals because of the damage caused by hordes of wild boars and cervids. The first threat to agriculture in many of our regions today is the uncontrolled proliferation of wild boars, deer and deer. However, these animals have a natural predator and only one is the wolf. When discussing the status of the wolf, animal in danger or not, we must listen to the teachings of animal behavior specialists, who tell us that wolves attack herds and domestic animals essentially when packs have been disorganized. It is the weak, old or sick individuals who attack domestic animals, when the hierarchical packs primarily attack their natural prey, wild animals. So let's be careful to maintain the principle of selective shooting. Do not disorganize packs, which could result in increased damage to herds. We need to learn to coexist with wild animals, to welcome the results of a successful conservation policy. We must learn to co-exist to preserve biodiversity.

Mr President, Commissioner, the Barbados Agenda has the advantage of underlining the manifestly unsustainable nature of a system that confronts some of the poorest countries in the world, such as Barbados, as recently as Pakistan, with the consequences of environmental disturbances for which they are not the cause. But let's not be mistaken. International institutions, a banking and financial system, a capitalism that has become totalitarian that ignores competition, the market as well as democracy will not be able to solve themselves the problems that they have largely contributed to creating. That is why we are calling for a change in accounting standards that overvalue flows at the expense of stocks. That is why we are calling for a review of financial performance requirements that are clearly incompatible with the survival of ecosystems and the renewal of natural resources. That is why we must quickly proceed to the taxation of international capital movements that are totally detrimental to resilient societies and sustainable territories. Let's keep the word of Keynes, the first localist: We produce at home all that it is reasonably capable of producing, but above all that finance and banking remain national.

Madam President, Commissioner, thank you for this session, which deals with a major issue. The Armenians are worried. In this Parliament, which is massively mobilizing in support of Ukraine, Azerbaijan's military rhetoric is unbearable. It is unbearable because indeed Armenia is looking towards Europe. Cultural ties, societal ties, historical ties with Europe are major. At the same time, we must reject all hypocrisy. I hear a lot about gas from Azerbaijan. We have no illusions. Azerbaijan's gas is Russian gas. And the relations that some European countries want to develop with Azerbaijan is a great way to circumvent sanctions against Russia. Nor are we under any illusions, if the European Union recognises it, that major world countries such as Britain do not recognise the Armenian Genocide. It is urgent today to consider that Azerbaijan's temptation and willingness to create a corridor in Syunik with Turkey is a geopolitical threat to Europe. We need to muscle our bodies of observers who have to deal with the failure of the peacekeepers Russians. We must step up support for an Armenia where hundreds of thousands of Armenians fear for their daily survival and are threatened by what we fear for Ukraine.

Madam President, Commissioner, Madam President of the ECB, your courtesy is well known. We are very sensitive to the fact that you have the patience to stay with us tonight, and I believe that all my colleagues join me in greeting you. The major political decision you took with the greening of the ECB’s monetary policy calls for two questions on my part, particularly at a time of serious concern about maintaining purchasing power. The first question concerns its legitimacy: Should we not consider a new negotiation and an extension of your mandate to legitimise this greening of monetary policy, with its consequences? Because my second question concerns the concern of many economists, who consider that the irrational and exorbitant preference for renewable energy will have marked inflationary effects. Is this why there is increasing talk of a 2-4% or 5% inflation target? Aren't you afraid of the inflationary effects of the forced greening of your monetary policy?

Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, ladies and gentlemen, I naturally associate myself with the condolences that have been expressed to the people of Pakistan and to the victims of one of the climate disasters that, alas, are happening repeatedly. Having associated myself with this tribute and condolences, I would like to highlight two or three points that seem important to me. We must help Pakistan for our European nations. It is an important partner, which also plays a major role in restoring peace and prosperity to a region where the future of the world is likely to be at stake. Pakistan was present at the Samarkand Conference, is an important member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and both the European Union and European nations need to deepen their relations with that country. Pakistan’s dramatic circumstances are, of course, an opportunity to see who the friends are, who the relatives are. And in that regard, I can only welcome the effort made by the Indian Foreign Minister, who told me that his country had granted more than $25 million in aid to a state traditionally regarded as an enemy. Secondly, I would like to stress that, while climate change is naturally the subject of an urgent fight, its effects will only be felt in the medium and long term. We must work to prevent major climate risks. We need to challenge infrastructure models that are not adapted to the relief and habits of local people. We need to revise ways of building that ignore traditions and the experience of centuries of people facing harsh environments and harsh conditions. All this naturally affects the conditions of trade, but it also affects the conditions of a manifestly unsustainable economic model. I would like the European Union to give priority to ecological expertise in relation to major environmental risks.