Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, the future with you is ‘pandemic’ and ‘vaccine’. You repeat it seven times: ‘vaccine’, ‘vaccine’, ‘vaccine’, ‘vaccine’, ‘vaccine’... and ‘vaccination’. I had prepared a technical intervention based on your annexes, but since you never answer the questions, I will speak for our fellow citizens, many of whom criticise the action of this deaf and authoritarian Commission, which spends its time punishing the Member States that come out of the nails – from its nails. We all know here that your roadmaps, your small communications to the 27 Member States, you take them from Pfizer BioNTech and from the foundation of Bill and Melinda Gates. Just see the award given last week to European Commission President von der Leyen by Bill Gates for her good and loyal service. A year ago, it was this same president who presented the award for best business leader to Mr Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, who negotiated via SMS and obtained the biggest purchase contract – 2.4 billion doses – through the European Commission. With a unit price of the dose between 15 and 20 euros, we reach peaks! Even our Court of Auditors is critical in its latest report. Therefore, I have no questions to ask you since you do not decide anything. But did you see that your mentor, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, said that there is no longer a pandemic, no more COVID-19? How are you going to do it? Are you going to sue him for misinformation? How are you going to censor him? Moreover, how is Mr Barroso, this former President of the Commission, now at the head of GAVI, this global vaccine organisation partner of COVAX and having Bill and Melinda Gates as sponsors? Who will replace him at the end of the year? Which other member of the European Commission is planned?

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, dear rapporteurs, Commissioner, finally, after more than a decade, we are getting a universal charger for small electronic devices in Europe! Europe is still lagging behind when it comes to defending or protecting its citizens from digital giants. We see this every day, as with the transfer of our personal data to the United States announced in March 2022 by Ms Von der Leyen and Joe Biden, or with this new European health data space managed by Microsoft Azure, this famous ‘data hub’ that Anticor had denounced by referring it to the national financial prosecutor’s office because the French government had chosen it without having put it in competition with European solutions. But let's go back to that detail: chargers. Indeed, it is ridiculous that consumers have to fend for themselves with all kinds of different charger cables. And I am sure that everyone here was once unable to charge their mobile phone because the right charging cable was simply not available. That this situation could have persisted for such a long time is unacceptable. The binding obligation for manufacturers to offer a universal charger system is therefore a welcome development, albeit one that has been awaited for too long. In 2009, the European Commissioner for Industry had already asked manufacturers to agree on a common standard for smartphones; It took thirteen years. Members of the European Parliament have been demanding decisive action from the Commission for more than a decade; Why did it take so long? Were the exchange currencies not large enough? Undoubtedly, the Commission was aiming at self-regulation, and during this time the industry will have continued to drag its feet. This is another example of the failure of the dominant liberal mantra, which inspired the Commission’s naive belief, with this so-called ‘self-regulation’. In particular, Apple alone has blocked efforts to impose legally binding measures for more than a decade; This was confirmed after the publications under the European Freedom of Information Act. This shows once again the immense power of foreign lobbying – in this case the US – over the decision-making process in Europe. And it works: Amazon has just landed the digital euro market. This is not the first time we have seen this phenomenon; it is part of a wider scheme. We believe that the market regulates itself, to conclude decades later that this is not the case. I recall that earlier this year we approved the DMA: again, we have allowed the GAFAMs to claim far too much power over our countries and our citizens. Let this serve as a lesson for the future: Instead of the typical wait-and-see attitude or complicit naivety, we need to act decisively against large foreign companies – if necessary.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, in the report on women’s poverty in Europe, which we support, it is pointed out that the worsening social and economic situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has increased all forms of abuse and violence against women. That is why I am going to tell you about more than 15 000 healthcare workers suspended in France, the majority of whom are women, who have been without pay for almost a year. I met them and saw this distress closely. Adulated during the first wave of COVID, they have become invisible, even to be eliminated since an infamous decree of Macron. These nurses, nursing assistants, firefighters and doctors were therefore suspended because they did not want to be injected with a product in the experimental phase. It’s curious, isn’t it? No one wants to address this issue. They have been at the front, know vaccines better than anyone, but their consent, which had to be free and informed, is denigrated or even despised. Since the Brussels Commission wants to lead this COVID crisis, let it open its eyes and condemn Macron’s infamous regime to immediately reinstate all those suspended. For our humanistic values, for our honor.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, decades of laxity have made Europe a digital colony of the American Big Techs, the GAFAMs. The Digital Markets Act, the DMA, is therefore an attempt to reverse the situation. President Macron is self-congratulating on this legislation. However, it is despite the position of the French Presidency, and not because of it, that the DMA still contains useful provisions. Due to pressure from the French Presidency of the Council, the maximum fine for an infringement has been halved. Similarly, the dismantling of GAFAMs that break the rules has been made more difficult. Surprisingly, the Council did not see much value in the interoperability of messaging services. Opening WhatsApp to alternative services would benefit millions of citizens. However, it was only reluctantly accepted. I therefore congratulate the rapporteur, Andreas Schwab, on his success in limiting the damage. I am pleased that my group's proposal to protect whistleblowers is part of the DMA. I would like to thank the rapporteur, my colleagues and the staff concerned for this enormous work. DMA is necessary but not sufficient. It is a beginning but not an end. This legislative measure will not in itself create digital jobs in Europe, nor will it create digital champions, nor will it create Europe’s digital sovereignty. We should massively support European digital companies and invest in digital jobs in Europe, as in the past, with European cooperation initiatives and investments such as Airbus. After decades of laxity, we have one last chance to take the initiative. Our group will support this report.

Madam President, I want to come back to two important votes today. Erasmus, of course, I am in favour. Young people meet and discover Europe, its landscapes, its castles, its peoples. And sometimes the story ends well with couples forming. But at the moment, Brussels is organising a global caravan: Since 2004, more than 100,000 Turks have done Erasmus in Europe and we send our students to Nigeria. It costs €26 billion, and what is the project? That is why I abstained on this vote. As for the second vote on the health pass, I obviously voted against it. The QR code for everyone? No thanks. The Brussels Commission ignored the 400 000 Europeans who had spoken out against it and here in the European Parliament the majority ignored them today. But the fight continues. Why this insistence on injecting six-month-old babies with a COVID vaccine that does not work? As long as there are 1.3 million side effects listed by the EMA, do not put our children, teenagers, students at risk.

Madam President, tomorrow will be put to the vote without debate, without impact assessment, without scientific results, a regulation to extend the use of the EU Digital COVID Certificate until June 2023. Are you aware of the results of the public consultation on this extension proposal organised by the Commission between 3 February and 8 April this year? More than 385,000 contributions have been submitted by European citizens. It is apparent from this massive participation that an overwhelming majority opposes this extension of the QR code. Thanks to a letter mysteriously kept confidential so far, you will be able to discover that the Commission is simply dismissing the results of this consultation. Why organise a public consultation if the Commission decides not to take it into account? I have referred the matter to the European Ombudsman and the Identity and Democracy Group has tabled amendments to delete this unjustified proposal. This highly undemocratic attitude of the Commission should not be endorsed by the European Parliament. This proposal should even be removed from the agenda. In any case, for our freedoms, we will vote against.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, when I asked your services two years ago, the Commission admitted that it had no idea that European companies were able to win public contracts in the United States or China. Today, you announce that Brussels will demand reciprocity and open public procurement in non-European countries. Congratulations! It is not too early, and we will vote for it. But how can we explain to the French and Europeans that last month the Commission signed a contract with an English company, British Telecom, to manage secret communications between Member States for more than EUR 1 billion? How to explain that Brussels hires the American consulting firm McKinsey without checking whether this firm pays taxes in France or in Europe? How can the European agency SRB, which manages the bankruptcies of European banks in Brussels, choose the American firm BlackRock for advice via a framework contract worth EUR 30 million? Finally, IBM is the leader of the €140 million project that manages our Schengen data, via a €30 million framework contract. We are talking here, however, about regal functions. Cooperation in Europe will only be successful if it is based on the priority for all Europeans.

Madam President, Commissioner, the extension of the health pass, which was originally scheduled for voting tomorrow, will finally be voted on 23 June. Providing evidence of COVID-19 vaccination, test results or recovery in order to be able to continue moving or working was an exceptional device, which was due to end on 30 June 2022. However, the Commission wants to extend it until 30 June 2023, when the pandemic risks and urgency are now clearly debatable. In addition, vaccination does not prevent infection or transmission. In February, a one-month public consultation of the Commission was launched. More than 385,000 people spoke: they are mostly against the extension of this QR code. Why does the Commission, so quick to communicate on the Conference on the Future of Europe, which is based on the opinion of panels of 200 citizens, not take into account the opinion of more than 385 000 Europeans who say no to the QR code? How do you deal with this public consultation? In view of this denial of democracy, where the parliamentary debate has been abolished, and in view of the ignorance of this public consultation, I refer the matter to the European Ombudsman.

Madam President, I have a minute to talk about billions of euros thrown out of Brussels' windows. That's expensive the second! Here everyone welcomes the good management of the Commission and its agencies. The European Medicines Agency has a budget of 370 million euros, and 84% of its revenue comes from Big Pharma, should we congratulate it? The Commission has made its own purchase of vaccines and has reserved 4 billion doses of COVID vaccines via SMS. Today, doses awaiting injection would amount to 2 billion. How many of them are already out of date? These doses would be mostly Pfizer doses. This waste is at least 240 million doses. This waste is 77% increase in Pfizer's revenue. Stocks are exploding: 12 billion were manufactured in 2021 and are expected to double for 2022. Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland are alerting to these forced over-orders and want to suspend these Commission orders. When is the end of this gibberish on the backs of European taxpayers? When will an audit of these Commission orders take place? When will a conflict of interest investigation take place?

Madam President, Mr High Representative, ladies and gentlemen, today we are discussing the situation of women in Afghanistan, of those women and children who are living hell in their homes. Afghanistan, with its huge and arid mountains, with its men piercing in turban and with its infinite poppy fields. We grew up or aged with Afghanistan at war, with the USSR, with Bernard Kouchner, with Commander Massoud and the Taliban on television and then, this summer, with the Americans who fled this land of war overnight. This sudden return to the customs of another time reminds us of our inability to implement women’s rights in distant societies where many fundamentally reject our way of life. What have the Americans done there all these years? Did they really believe that by changing the regime, they could change the whole of Afghan society? They have left Afghanistan in ruins. They left this country in the hands of the Taliban. "When the houses were closed from the inside, American soldiers beat them with rams, forcibly removed the veil of women," Emmanuel Razavi, a senior reporter, wrote this summer. So I am thinking of all those Afghan women who ultimately pay our arrogance to believe that we can impose our way of life on the entire planet. This is our failure at all. $2 trillion has been invested in Afghanistan by the United States over the past 20 years, including $500 billion to pay interest on the debt. France lost 90 men and 700 wounded. Who knows if another €1 trillion could change this country? Who knows if 1,000 more amputees could change this country? I see colleagues organizing a flashmob tomorrow in solidarity with these Afghan women. Do you really think a flashmob will change this country? The urgency is to manage these millions of refugees who arrive here in Europe, especially with these men who come with their customs of another century and who try to impose it on our daughters, our sisters, our mothers, and even on these Afghan refugee women. I will end with this fact various atrocious November 2021, an Afghan migrant... (The President withdrew the floor from the speaker.)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, while all our eyes are rightfully on Ukraine, another European country continues to suffer martyrdom, far from the cameras and diplomatic turmoil, unfortunately. This country is Armenia, this people is the Armenian people, cruelly let go by all in autumn 2020. Armenia continues to suffer today. In Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory with Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani troops are destroying the Armenian cultural heritage of that region, with the aim of driving the Armenian population away from that territory. Until some time ago, I was in Yerevan and I was able to see the suffering of the Armenian people in the face of this ongoing war. We were justifiably moved by the destruction of the Timbuktu mausoleums by the Islamic State. But who cares about the cultural cleansing that threatens the borders of the European continent? Monasteries, churches or tombstones, 1,500 Armenian cultural monuments are threatened with destruction. These acts have already taken place in the past in Nakhchivan, where in 2006 Azerbaijan razed the necropolis of the ancient Armenian city of Juba. These acts threaten to be repeated today, when it seems that Azerbaijan has just set up a working group whose activities will consist in erasing Armenian ‘fictional inscriptions’ from religious or historical monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh. If all the destruction of cultural heritage is to be blamed, wherever it takes place, all over the world, this threat forces us particularly towards this brotherly, Christian and European people.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Madam President of the Commission, first of all I regret the absence of President von der Leyen. But I am happy to be able to pass on to you, from my fellow French citizens, questions about the transparency, or rather the opacity, that surrounds your actions. COVID-19 has created a non-rights universe under the guise of emergency. Transparency, especially when it comes to the health of our children, is fundamental. And so far, it cannot be said that this is the virtue of the Commission. Billions of euros for billions of doses of vaccines ordered from “Big Pharma” while they are still in the clinical study stage and their effectiveness is being questioned. The scandal of the purchase of the medicine remdesivir – which I do not forget – by your Commission should have alerted you. EUR 1 billion for the Gilead laboratory, for 500 000 doses of this treatment, while at the same time negative results were published for it. In your global vaccination strategy, you sent out discarded or expired AstraZeneca vaccines, thousands of doses of which had to be destroyed by Nigeria. Will you shed all the light on these failures? Why are entire pages of these vaccine purchase agreements hidden? Those grey clauses relate in particular to the absence of liability of the labs in the event of undesirable side effects. Why such disclaimers? Why did you hide the price of the doses? Who will pay for the unwanted side effects? Why does the European Commission insist on not sending the European Ombudsman the SMS exchanges between the CEO of Pfizer and the President of the European Commission? To President von der Leyen, who is absent: do not ask Member States today to think about a vaccination obligation, when we are unable to answer all these questions.

Madam President, Commissioner, dear European Ombudsman, I would first like to congratulate and thank you on behalf of many of my compatriots who are eager for honesty, transparency and who still believe in justice. While Ms von der Leyen said a few days ago that she wanted Member States to think about a vaccine obligation for everyone, the Commission continued to hide the text messages exchanged between her and the CEO of Pfizer during the negotiation of the famous 90% redacted vaccine purchase contract. At the same time, Pfizer plans to sell $54 billion worth of COVID-19 vaccines and pills in 2022. Why this lack of transparency on the part of the Commission? Why this contempt? Why this disconnection with citizens? Why so much secrecy in Brussels, when they do not hesitate to embrace Washington by self-congratulation? Keep going, dear lady. This case is serious, and we are with you. Some do not want to see this convoy of liberties, this peaceful and civic demonstration in Brussels, Strasbourg and Paris, while it is also the consequence of this contempt and opacity of our European institutions. Thank you. You have our full support.

Mr President, this debate is about the future of European youth after the pandemic. But let's talk about the present. The good news is that, for you, there will be an end to the pandemic. May President Macron and his acolytes hear you, in order to put an end as soon as possible to this health dictatorship established in France for two years. Two years of hell for our French youth, who have spawned suicides, school dropouts, lost internships in companies and, to top it all off, a mandatory vaccine to play sports, go to the cinema or discotheque. A broken youth, children martyred with masks of PCR tests imposed at the last minute of Ibiza. Indeed, history will remember that live from this island dedicated to the holiday, on January 2, the Minister of Education and Youth, Jean-Michel Blanquer, announced the new COVID protocol to be applied in schools. With a COVID vaccine so ineffective against contagion and unsuitable for young people, should we still push for mandatory vaccination of this population? It's time to get back to reason. More than 115,000 children aged 5 to 9 were injected in France. How many in the other Member States? Pfizer makes 90% margin with its vaccine. But for our young people, is the benefit greater than the risk? According to the EMA, there are 6,000 suspicious deaths of all ages, medical alerts for nearly 1,000 children, including 407 babies. In France, last summer alone, it is 917 myocarditis. I think of this 16-year-old who took his dose to play sports and ended up in the emergency room in Montpellier. In the face of COVID, there are countries that have preserved the freedom of their fellow citizens and others that have preferred to sacrifice their youth. One day, they will have to answer to this sacrificed youth.

Madam President, Commissioner, Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, today, of the 20 largest digital companies in the world, only one is European. It is the German company SAP. As you know, the digital giants of Silicon Valley, Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft, the GAFAM, govern almost the entire digital sector in Europe. For years, the GAFAM have abused their monopoly power, taking advantage of the neoliberal dogma and laxity of the Commission: Irish digital dumping, transfer of European data to the US, approval of Facebook's takeover of Instagram, big US tech companies have bought or stifled any potential European rival. For a long time, we were the only ones talking about strategic autonomy and a year ago, the Commission finally proposed the Digital Markets Act, the DMA. As always, this proposal was too late, too weak and too insufficient. On behalf of the ID Group, I defended much stricter measures against the digital giants. This will allow GAFAMs to be fined up to 20% of their overall turnover. In the event of serious infringements, the dismantling of the largest companies will now be possible. We also insisted on the freedom of payment methods and the interoperability of social networks. And on my own initiative, and I congratulate the rapporteur, the DMA includes a provision on whistleblowers. Whistleblowers, such as Frances Haugen, will be protected when they report abuses by digital giants. Brussels will thus be able to prevent killer acquisitions. We'll see if she does. As the GAFAM have ignored the Brussels administration so far, I had even called for personal sanctions against the leaders in case of serious and intentional misconduct. For Europe to regain its strategic autonomy, the Commission and states like France will have to show a real willingness to act. This is a first step. We want to go further. To develop a European industrial and technological base in the digital sector, a priority for local or European production is needed in public procurement in Europe. But national and European preference, ladies and gentlemen, why do you not want it? Yes, let us dare to reserve a cloud and employment quota for Europeans in Europe. Let us dare to impose that the data of European citizens should preferably be processed in Europe. Here we are in Strasbourg, capital of the Christmas market, and I also take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, riots in Rotterdam and Brussels, live ammunition against citizens and a vaccine obligation that will be imposed in Austria and elsewhere. This week, the German health minister said that at the end of winter, Germans will be vaccinated, cured or dead. And not a single Member, who is always quick to react to riots on the other side of the world, showed up here during this plenary session. Worse, not a word about our stockpiles of AstraZeneca vaccines being shipped to the African continent. A vaccine withdrawn, not recommended following serious side effects in Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, France and Norway. Your plan for global vaccination, let's talk about it. A few days ago, the President of the European Commission, Ms von der Leyen, was in Washington to present, in gala attire and without a mask, the award for best business leader to the CEO of Pfizer, Mr Bourla, with the fine little elevator music – a film! The CEO of Pfizer, no doubt grayed by this von der Leyen award, has announced 4 billion doses for 2022. Wow! No shortage for the sixth dose. Negotiations by SMS, parts of hidden contracts, non-existent liability clauses... this is what Brussels signs. So is this the role of the European Union in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic? The head of the French government said on July 21 that double-dose vaccination prevents COVID-19 contamination. We learn this week that he himself, although doubly vaccinated, has just been declared positive for COVID-19. I wish Mr Castex well. This event should serve as a lesson in humility for all of us. What we know is that we know nothing. So let us keep verbal threats and brutal measures in order to give priority to prevention, precaution and free choice, the basis of our European democracies.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, EUR 500 billion in 2030: the global cloud market is a major challenge for France and Europe. But this market only goes in one direction: to the United States. Only 5% of European data is stored in Europe. Even the French government favors Google and Microsoft. Military data and health data are managed by these companies while French players such as OVH and Scaleway offer sovereign solutions. Negotiations on the DMA (the future Digital Markets Act) should allow Europe to regain control over certain practices by Google, Amazon and Facebook. But how will the European Commission be able to check and inspect these companies outside Europe? The Americans, on the other hand, oblige service providers to disclose to the authorities any information, whether inside the United States or on the other side of the world. In this transatlantic forum, you have to be the voice of the truly European companies that make engineers work in Europe. Don’t just listen to the Digitaleurope lobby, as the Korean Samsung, Chinese Huawei, Facebook, Google and Amazon are funding this lobby. Mr Chao-Muller, director of the Digitaleurope lobby, does not represent our interests.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Madam rapporteur, this legislative proposal that we are voting on today makes it possible to correct certain shortcomings observed in the implementation of the 2009 Directive on motor vehicle insurance. Failures to compensate accident victims in the event of the insolvency of an insurer had become too problematic to be left as they were. The creation of national bodies responsible for compensating victims in the event of the insurer’s bankruptcy is an important step forward, as is the clarification of several special cases that have arisen with the evolution of companies. The encouragement of insurance supervision by Member States of vehicles on their territory, without specifically targeting foreign cars, as well as the publication of how insurers’ bonuses are calculated, seem to be good measures. I also note that the French Insurance Federation supports this project. Nevertheless, while I still consider it positive to improve insurance conditions, it is also important to speed up the compensation of policyholders. On the other hand, while I can welcome the increase in the mandatory minimum of coverage, the increase in the cost of insurance should not have an impact on the standard of living of motorists. In France, since 2018 and the emergence of the yellow vests movement, the middle classes, often rural, who depend on the use of their vehicles are at an end. Whether it is because of the unprecedented increase in the price of petrol, the lowering of authorised speeds, the development of radar checks or, as here in Strasbourg, the future ban on diesel vehicles, motorists increasingly see the use of their vehicles as a means of getting hit by the State. Facilitating the lives of French and European citizens is our only goal.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, before I talk about the future of relations between the European Union and the United States, I would first like to thank the United States. Indeed, thanks to the United States, the French have been able to see the lack of loyalty of Brussels and our European partners. BNP Bank was ransomed by the US for $9 billion, with no reaction from Brussels. Alstom Energy, the pillar of our strategic independence, was stolen from us by the Americans, with no reaction from Brussels. According to Edward Snowden’s revelations, 70 million of our private conversations have been listened to by Americans. Presidents Hollande, Sarkozy and Chirac were spied on, with no reaction from Brussels. Thanks to the United States, the contract of EUR 56 billion with Australia for the construction of submarines by the French is taken from us, without any reaction from Brussels. In the animal world, especially in the hen, one takes his place according to the blows of beaks given and received. But the France of impotent presidents, Macron's France, takes a lot of beaks. Even Malian or Algerian leaders, between two coups, allow themselves to criticise us. De Gaulle's France didn't take as many blows and she gave them back, but she also didn't pay for McKinsey's health advice. But let's get to this report. Obviously, and I'm sorry, you're not talking about Australian submarines. On the other hand, you are calling for the creation of a ‘transatlantic parliament’, one more ‘machin’, as the General would say, dealing, for example, with ‘universal health coverage’. While our health care system does not fund dental coverage for the French, you want the French to pay for the whole world. Finally, you congratulate our cooperation – 31 times in this COVID-19 report – and state that global vaccination is the only way to end the pandemic: the only one! Do not forget to congratulate the European Medicines Agency, which has just validated the third dose of Pfizer, and especially Pfizer, which has doubled its sales this year and will pocket $34 billion in profits, thanks in particular to the Brussels contracts.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, on 22 January I asked the Commission two specific questions about the COVID vaccine contracts it signed on our behalf: Why did the Commission release the laboratories from all responsibility and who chose these vaccines? I received five lines on 10 September, without a precise answer. However, you had time to meet the halal slaughter lobbyists on 25 May and the insect-based food lobbyists on 28 October. You also received Gilead and Remdesivir lobbyists four times in one year, on July 6, September 9, December 7, 2020 and June 11, 2021. A €1 billion contract for a medicine not recommended by the WHO and used per person. Again, I asked who made this decision and why Gilead only warned us that the results were not positive the day after the contract was signed. Do we have the right to ask who made this decision and, above all, why? Do we have a right to know why you did not take any sanctions either? I note that you did not receive the other laboratories, so why this one? The Brussels administration decides on COVID vaccines and medicines for all Europeans, Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, rather than Sputnik or Chinese vaccines. But on what basis, in fact? We have a right to know. Europeans have a right to know, as no one voted for the President of the Brussels administration, Ms von der Leyen, or for her Commissioners. However, the lives of millions of French people and nations in Europe are affected by your decision. I repeat, the millions of French and Europeans have the right to know.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in 2006 the European Court of Auditors recommended that Bulgaria and Romania not be brought into the European Union because of rampant corruption. Ten years later, in an audit, the Court concluded that the EUR 5 billion paid to these Balkan countries by Brussels had been seriously breached. On 2 June 2021, the US administration announced that its Treasury Department had sanctioned three Bulgarian citizens and their networks in Bulgaria for corruption. The US administration considers that corruption endangers the rule of law and democracy in Bulgaria. Yet yesterday, here, the President of the Brussels administration, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that she wanted to speed up the accession process for the Balkan countries. Brussels subsidies, i.e. the taxes of the French, Germans, Italians and many others, already account for one third of the GDP of these countries. But the Commission still wants more. Bringing Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia, corrupt countries according to Transparency International’s corruption indexes – 104th in this index, at the same level as Panama or Algeria. No, Ms von der Layen, investing our money in Albania is not investing in the future of Europe. Let's invest in France, here in Alsace or in the north of France. The Balkans have always been the crossroads of engulfed empires and it is up to the Member States to address the issue of corruption. And what a disguise for Europe to see us called to order by the US administration.

Mr President, we have gathered today to reflect on a definition of gender-based violence, which would be a new area of crime. But why do we need a new definition and why this silence on the origin of these criminals? Unfortunately, all societies have always known about these heinous crimes against women. This is a reality. On the other hand, burnt women, acid attacks, group rapes in cellars, I have never read it in Flaubert’s novels or Molière’s theatre. Now, in Sweden, Austria, France, our girls are afraid to go out alone in skirts at night. Why are two out of three sexual assaults on transport in Île-de-France committed by foreigners? Why in Germany, half of the suspects of gang rape are foreigners, especially Afghans? Why are these crimes rarer in Eastern Europe, when these countries are poorer? Can we talk about this explosive report by the Swedish Ministry of Justice, which reveals that foreigners born in Africa or the Maghreb are three to five times more involved in rape? Do we have the right to say that this is enough? Read the abominable account of Shaina's ordeal. This 15-year-old girl has been the victim for years of multiple rapes and violence committed by young people in a Parisian city. The one who gave him the coup de grace was called Driss. After getting the teenager pregnant, he stabbed her and burned her alive. For him, he did not want his mother to learn that he had pregnant a ‘pute’ because he was a Muslim. Let us first think of these crimes, these women far from any ideology.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in the name of globalisation, European jobs have been relocated so that Bangladeshi workers, especially women, can be exploited. As for child labour, it is estimated that around one million children are victims of child labour in Bangladesh. Children who work 16 hours a day to produce clothes that are then shipped to Europe. But the worst thing is that by not applying tariffs to products from Bangladesh, the Commission has all the while encouraged these appalling conditions. Should everything give way to so-called free trade? Should European jobs be sacrificed? Should women and children be exploited? Should we accept climate change with these Bangladeshi products shipped from the other side of the world to the European Union? The Commission claims to have improvement plans everywhere. But the reality is that we have no control over the laws and working conditions in Bangladesh. What we can control is the policy in Europe. Last November, radical groups, Islamists and Bangladeshi fanatics called for a boycott of French products after another Islamist beheaded teacher Samuel Paty. Why should we continue to distribute commercial gifts to Bangladesh when we are under hostilities in a country where workers are exploited and child labour is not eliminated? Let us import our products from elsewhere or, even better, bring production and employment back to Europe and France.