Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, dear Amine, Europe is overdosing. Last year in France, 367 murders and attempted murders were linked to drug trafficking. Among these victims is your brother Mehdi. His murder affects us all. You have our full support. Inevitably, the grief of your mother, your family, we share it. Traffickers no longer have limits: Activists, journalists, lawyers, magistrates are threatened, murdered or forced into protection for refusing silence. Is this our future? A society held hostage, where fear dictates the rules and justice is at risk. Today, drug trafficking acts as a silent terrorism. He kills, he intimidates, he disorganizes. That is why we need a real war against drug trafficking, a French and European war. I welcome the anti-drug initiatives announced by the European Commission, but we must go further and draw inspiration from effective models, such as high-security prisons and all the measures stemming from the law against drug trafficking in France. Let's take back our cities, our ports, our streets! Let's do justice to Mehdi and all the victims of drug trafficking! Let’s not be afraid anymore! We no longer have the right to tremble.

You blame the rulers every time. We are here to make arrangements and, each time, you finally refuse all the arrangements that are made right here. I take as proof all the subjects related to the management of forests and all the planning of the territory. But my question is quite specific. You are asking for more solidarity and more budget for civil protection mechanisms and all the funds that go to our member countries of the Union, but you are one of those who ultimately ask for Frexit, so that France leaves the European Union. What is the concordance between the two? How do you try to fit the two principles?

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, a few months ago we were talking about a Europe that was becoming dehydrated. From now on, we are talking about a Europe that is ultimately underwater. At this very moment, in France, it is a storm that will hit my country with many vigilances. This is climate change. A Europe that burns and finally a Europe that gets overwhelmed a few weeks later. Spain has paid a high price. And yes, we must think of the victims and all those who intervened. Beyond the polemics, an observation is required. We were not ready and we are not ready. And as a firefighter, I can't handle it. The absence of an early warning system, the lack of coordination or the instinctive reflexes of our fellow citizens, finally, worsen the balance sheet every day. Today, it is not a question of looking for culprits, but of assuming our common responsibility, because it is our duty to prepare our population. It is our duty to establish a true culture of risk. We need a prepared union, a union of shared and lasting resilience. Let us make preparation a collective and European reflex. Above all, let us not oppose sovereignty and solidarity. Crises have no borders or political parties.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, while for some summer is synonymous with holidays, for others it is synonymous with isolation and kettle housing and loneliness. Yes, this summer, Europe was hit by heat waves, 48° in Sicily, 46° in Spain, but also unprecedented temperatures in Scandinavia. This situation is not exceptional, it is a glimpse of what awaits us, always striking the same, the most vulnerable. Energy poverty has no season. The most modest households are twice as exposed to the risk of overheating as the wealthiest households. Those who freeze in winter in shady dwellings are also those who suffocate in summer in kettle dwellings. Our populations are also aging and, in France, there are hundreds of deaths this summer. Our workers are also affected. Since the turn of the century, the European Union has seen a 42% increase in deaths from heat waves in the workplace. We need to act for all these people. We must act for all this, for our fellow citizens. They do not expect a simple "clim" plan, that there is only one "com" plan left. We need to build a resilient, egalitarian society, because our citizens deserve more than heat survival. They deserve dignified lives, safe lives.

I have misunderstood your intervention because you say that, in the end, the European Civil Protection Mechanism is useless. And yet you are calling for increased funding for the same mechanism. What's your idea?

Dear colleague, you are saying that it is not climate change. So I have two questions. You say they're pyromaniacs lighting the fires. I would like to know the exact share of fires linked to pyromaniacs – first question. And, secondly, how do you explain that in 20 years the speed of fire spread has doubled or even tripled?

Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, ladies and gentlemen, in my entire career as a firefighter, I have never seen such a devastating summer. I was involved in Aude, and the scale of forest fires in Europe leaves me speechless. However, we do not have the luxury of being silent. No need to take stock, the images have spoken and everyone knows it: thousands of hectares gone up in smoke, people who died and people who lost everything. There is a clear need to: these unusual fires are a direct consequence of climate change. Yet, in the face of this reality, we have just heard it again, the extreme right is locked in climate scepticism. But a certainty is required, denial will never protect us from the flames. Only concrete actions will be able to do so. First of all, in the face of this new generation of unusual fires, the fight is no longer enough. And yes, Commissioner, prevention must become our first firewall. Developing a true culture of risk and preparedness is no longer an option, it is a vital necessity. Then, as you know, we need European water bombers. As with masks from China, our sovereignty can no longer depend on aircraft from Canada. Europe has the know-how. There is only a lack of political will to build European and sustainable production. Finally, without women and men, there is no fight. Firefighters, the majority of whom are volunteers, are our first shield against flames. While so many citizens want to engage, our duty is simple: obstacles to their mobilisation must be removed and their role recognised. Forest fires have changed in nature, it's up to us to change our response.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we all remember those weeks when carers lacked anything but courage, with rationed masks, home-stitched overblouses and improvised protections. They put their health at stake to preserve ours. Why? Because Europe was unprepared, unprepared and unstored. It was not that a crisis had surprised us, it was that our unpreparedness had turned this health emergency into an unprecedented crisis. The greatest tribute you can pay them, Madam, is indeed to take advantage of our past mistakes to build a real preparedness strategy, including useful stocks. But just as we cannot depend on water bombers from Canada to defend our forests and put out our current fires, so we cannot depend on cargo ships from China to protect the health of our fellow citizens. This is why strengthening our strategic stocks is an absolute urgency. RescEU must become our first line of defense. No longer to undergo but to anticipate, no longer to depend but to master: this is the only way to build a sovereign, resilient and cohesive Europe.

Mr Leonardelli, of course, we know each other and, inevitably, we have subjects in common. You have heard me speak, I hope, and today my fight is no longer forest fires – although this summer I am still guarding. We had the same kind of reaction this morning, about our goals to decarbonise our Europe. I've been a firefighter for over 36 years. I saw the intensity and virulence of the fires against which I fought, I saw the floods in this Occitania which is dear to you. These fights, I have been fighting for a few years and I see the evolution of climate change. Please, since you are making statements to support European action in favour of firefighters and civil protection forces, also act by voting to decarbonise, to ensure that our climate is more pleasant and, in any case, that there are no consequences for our civil protection forces and especially for our fellow citizens and the homes that are dear to them.

Madam President, Commissioner, Minister, Europe is suffocating, Europe is burning, temperatures are above 40°C throughout southern Europe, fires broke out in the Netherlands in March, and other fires are ravaging our countries right now. I have a thought for my friends involved in all the operational theatres and, inevitably, for all those who have lost a property – and again, fortunately, there is no victim at this stage. As a firefighter for over 30 years, I have had to fight many fires. Today, I have to fight and lead a fight right here against the denial of climate sceptics. This is a difficult fight, and we must all fight it together. Yet, science is without appeal, and the observation knocks on our doors every day: From now on, we must anticipate and prepare. Anticipate and prepare; This is the whole point of our European Union's strategy. Yet, how to prepare without financial means? This civil protection mechanism, which was requested more than 58 times last year, will of course need to be strengthened. It will be necessary to prepare, because preparing will always cost less than repairing. How to prepare also without sufficient means? As you said, we have many water bombers deployed in theatre, but today – and I appeal to the Commission, I appeal to the Council under the Danish Presidency – we need to acquire a fleet of European water bombers, made in Europe, for Europe. We have the means, we have the skills on our soil, and beyond the operational emergency, our sovereignty and strategic autonomy are at stake. Preparing also means underlining and protecting citizen engagement. More than 80% of our firefighters are volunteers, and I call, Commissioner, for a European directive on citizen engagement. You know our commitment on the ground, and several parliamentarians are attached to it.

Madam President, Commissioner, dear Thomas, Europe is becoming dehydrated. It is no longer a metaphor, it is a hydrological, social and economic reality. Every year, one third of the European population is exposed to seasonal water shortages. We are well aware of this, we who come from southern Europe, where droughts, once exceptional, have become chronic. As the reservoir depletes, the European thirst only increases, to feed, to produce and to cool. The installation of factories, the manufacture of semiconductors, the installation of data centers, which are essential to our industrial and digital sovereignty, have a price. A price that is paid not in euros or dollars, but in liters of water. Today, data centres in Europe can consume up to 12,000 cubic meters of water per day, more than the daily water needs of a city like Strasbourg, where we are now. The illusion that water is an unlimited resource has evaporated. The fact that Parliament is taking up the issue of water resilience, dear Thomas, is proof of this, and thank you for the work done with all the coordinators. But we need to do more. Yes, we need enough water, but we still need it to be of good quality. Repeated scandals about the pollution of drinking water by eternal pollutants, the famous PFAS, cannot leave us indifferent. For while PFAS is eternal, our health is not. Dear Christophe, there is indeed a scandal not far from here, right now. Our fellow citizens are sounding the alarm. States, like France, take national prohibition measures. We, as MEPs, must work for a ban on PFAS at European level. Europe will not build its sovereignty of tomorrow on foundations that are drying up.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, last week, Commissioner Lahbib presented a strategy for preparing our Europe, based on the recommendations of the Niinistö report. I wanted to congratulate you on that. As a firefighter, this is the first time I have seen the people I meet on the street and finally told me about the Europe that allows them to prepare. Even if some think they know everything, you should know that some operational staff, who are here in the room, share what is being prepared by our European Union. On 5 November, like you, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke about the need to encourage volunteers and volunteers to engage in collective protection, civil protection. Ms Lahbib, I trust you to propose in the coming months a text that will outline voluntary citizen engagement, in order to protect, recognise and defend it. Yes, we need a clear legal framework for our citizens to support your preparation for our union. Because we are safer together, solidarity and commitment must guide our actions towards a more secure, cohesive and resilient Europe.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, on 28 February, just over two months after Cyclone Chido ravaged Mayotte, Reunion Island was swept away by storm Garance. It hit 900,000 people hard and caused the death of five people. In addition to this sad balance sheet, there is a heavy material balance sheet: Roads cut, houses destroyed, electricity and running water cuts, etc. The entire agricultural sector in Reunion was also hit. Wind gusts of more than 200 km/h left no chance for banana, strawberry, tomato and sugarcane crops and plantations. In the north of the island, cane growers typically lost almost 90% of their harvest. This tragic situation, it must be noted, is no longer exceptional. Natural disasters are now part of our daily lives, disrupted by the consequences of climate change. In particular, the outermost regions, due to their geographical characteristics, are at the forefront of climate change. They shed some light on the problems that all EU regions will face in the near future. By supporting them today, we are investing in the EU’s resilience for our future. My repeated presence here in front of this House, when this is my first mandate, sadly attests to this phenomenon. Since last September, I have addressed you five times, both to deliver a message of support to the regions and communities affected by such disasters, but also to urge the European Union to rise to this challenge, in particular through the upcoming EU preparedness strategy and the next EU budget. There is a need to continue to actively prepare and focus on preparation and repair. We need to step up our support to communities and regions affected by such disasters, including through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, the Solidarity Fund and greater flexibility in the use of cohesion funds. On the other hand, we need to build a true culture of preparedness, so that all citizens, especially in regions most exposed to natural hazards, are able to protect themselves, prepare for and respond to climate events. As a firefighter, I can assure you that every move counts and can save lives.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, 2024 is the hottest year on record. For the first time, we crossed the symbolic threshold of 1.5 degrees set by the 2015 Paris Agreement. This increase in temperatures has led to a series of extreme weather events: floods in Germany, storm Boris in Central and Eastern Europe, severe storms in Belgium causing floods and fires, fires in Portugal and Greece – which had its hottest summer on record –, floods in Spain – everyone remembers –, torrential rains in Italy, drought and fires in Sicily and Sardinia, storm Leslie in France in October, and of course cyclone Chido in Mayotte – and so many others across the globe. In 2024, we were all sad witnesses to these disasters and their tragic consequences. Let's not put our heads in the sand anymore, because our house always burns virulently. Here in the European Parliament, together with the European Commission, we must endorse Sauli Niinistö's report and its recommendations. This is a historic report. It is time to put crisis prevention and preparedness at the heart of our priorities by adapting our systems. To conclude and to make you think, a single figure: the disaster bill in Europe amounts to EUR 14 billion in 2024 – and I am not talking about the human toll.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Vice-President, not a week goes by without talking about a natural disaster in this Chamber. Spain, Central Europe, and this week, unfortunately, it is Mayotte, dear Younous. It is a devastating cyclone. We've been talking about it since yesterday. We have a thought, with the Renew Group and all the French parliamentarians who sit in this Chamber, for all the Mahorais, who are suffering at the moment and who are discovering the horror. We necessarily wish them to find their loved ones. We think of all the Mahorais who are on metropolitan territory and who are worried. A support to the Mahorais, certainly, but also a support to the committed forces, which were, since last week also, in prevention, sent in anticipation to our compatriots Mahorais. These committed forces, of course, I know them. Firefighters, law enforcement officers – police, gendarmes, soldiers – and doctors are currently working under difficult conditions. Last week I was in Reunion to really care about the resilience of this territory, which is preparing to face the repercussions of climate change, and in particular cyclones. Europe must be present, Europe will be present, thanks to this policy of solidarity that is its cement. Europe will be there thanks to the Restore system, which we voted for, adopted this morning and have been working on for several weeks. Europe will also be present by providing important maps to manage operations on the ground. Europe will certainly be there too – and I hope so – because our country is going to ask for additional forces, and, I know, we will be there with Europe. As you said, we also need to plan for the future. We were about the same number listening to the recommendations of President Sauli Niinistö, whom he is asking us to take on in view of future challenges. Europe will be present alongside Mayotte. Mayotte is France. Mayotte is Europe.

(FR) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, the news keeps reminding us of this, and in an ever more tragic way: extreme weather events have consequences, and droughts, floods or cyclones have a direct impact on drinking water. This week, the lack of drinking water is Mayotte. Mayotte, which is facing this water shortage due to a cyclone of rare violence. But it is also, let us remember, a structural water issue. In the summer of 2023, two days out of three, not a drop of water came out of the pipes in Mayotte. Not a drop of water at the tap. Although Mayotte reports an extreme situation, the rest of Europe is not spared water shortages. Commissioner, every year 30% of Europeans are affected by the water deficit. This is alarming. We are not helpless in the face of this. We have solutions: renovation of water networks, sewerage, the use of treated wastewater or the use of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, to rationalise water consumption. It is essential to reduce water stress and, above all, to provide access to drinking water. Let's remember: Water is also life, but it is also the survival of our industries.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, as we speak there is a race against time in Mayotte, which was devastated by Cyclone Chido. I have a thought for the people of Mauritius, but also for all the fire brigade colleagues, civil protection, the military, the public security force, volunteers and doctors who are working in terrible conditions at the moment. Colleagues, I support this Restore project, which will bring flexibility through additional support for all communities and countries affected by these disasters in 2024. Restore is the concrete Europe, it is the Europe of solutions, it is the Europe of everyday life. This project will provide basic food and material assistance while supporting short-time work, in order to make recovery possible in these disaster-stricken territories. Finally, Commissioner, there is not a plenary week where we are not talking here about natural disasters. This is a tragedy, and the Restore solution is certainly a helper solution. But the next financial programme will have to deal with the climate challenge with structural aid, to enable reconstruction that gives rise to the future, starting with the natural disasters that hit us every week.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, as we speak, there are still floods in Malaga, Spain. As some people know, I'm a professional fire officer. I put my career on hold. I'm still a volunteer, but I'm here now. And if I had been on the ground right now, I'd be sorry to tell you: do not do this in front of parliamentary representation. The political debate that is being instrumentalized has no place. While women and men are rescuing, and while women and men are burying their own. I too have seen death up close, and what happened in Valencia is a tragedy. The human toll is high, with nearly 220 dead, 80 missing and that is what we also experienced in France with storm Alex, in Germany, in Italy a few years ago or as you said, Commissioner, in Central Europe not so long ago. The key is to learn lessons together, to learn from experience and to continue to build a comprehensive European Union solidarity policy. I am convinced that our public policies must make it possible to grow in spirit and to express the solidarity that the founders of Europe imagined at its origin. That is why we must strengthen our preparatory actions together and refer to the report by former Finnish President Niinistö. But I would like to stress one of the main points of his recommendations today: territories and populations need to be better prepared for climate change and natural disasters. Preparing and strengthening will always cost less than repairing.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Draghi report has shown us that: Europe needs to become more competitive. It is an existential challenge, a challenge to see the EU become a strong and independent global actor, a leader in education, new technologies and the fight against climate change. As we know, investing in education and training, social protection and health contributes to creating a sovereign, more resilient, more inclusive and indeed more competitive society. Yes, we urgently need to close our skills gap. Currently, almost 80% of employers are struggling to recruit workers with the right skills, while those we have trained are putting to good use their skills acquired here in Europe, both expensively and across the Atlantic. In addition, 60% of workers say they need to be trained in AI tools, while 14% actually do. Finally, as we know, there are labour shortages in key areas of the transition such as construction, health or low-carbon energy. The construction site is huge. The Draghi report gives us the trajectory as well as the solutions. Without strengthening the skills of our workers, our human wealth, the EU will remain a spectator of its twin transitions – green and digital.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, not a week without mentioning natural disasters in Europe. At the opening of the plenary session in September, reference was made to the dramatic floods in Central Europe: Austria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Italy and Hungary were underwater, while Greece was under fire. Portugal has faced this week fires of rare violence for a month of October, while this very night, the south of France is in the rain. As a reminder, in 2022, the European Environment Agency reported a sad finding: 145 000 deaths and EUR 520 billion related to the consequences of natural disasters in Europe. No one is safe anymore, it is a direct consequence of climate change. The best remedy, the best bulwark, is European solidarity. The appointment of a Commissioner for Crisis Preparedness and Management is a positive signal, as repair costs much more than preparation and anticipation. It will therefore be a question of having a real strategy in this area. Today, more than 60% of the budget of the European Civil Protection Mechanism comes from NextGenerationEU. The next revision of the multiannual financial framework will, ladies and gentlemen, be decisive in securing the capacity for action of this mechanism. Beyond words and statements, we will need action.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, our farmers are almost 9 million women and men who work tirelessly to ensure our food autonomy. They play a key role in spatial planning and are the frontline partners in the face of climate change. They sometimes face unfair competition, but also rising energy prices and difficulties in accessing liquidity. They are the first victims of climate change, especially drought. It is therefore necessary, at EU level, to pay attention to the quantitative management of water and to deal with this problem. In this context, how can we not hear the cries of alarm that they sent out to us, particularly in June, during the last elections? Yes, the recent measures taken by the Commission are a step in the right direction. Yes, the recent measures make it possible to facilitate, simplify and find solutions quickly, especially in terms of liquidity. As we know, these extreme events, such as drought, will increase in the future. This is why the urgency is to guarantee our farmers a decent income, a fair recognition of the efforts made to preserve our environment and fair competition rules.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would first like to express my full support at this difficult time to the victims, their relatives and the families of those who have died. I would also like to welcome the commitment of all forces, including civil protection – I mean volunteers, professionals, military, who have worked tirelessly since the beginning of this disaster called Boris. Was it necessary for new natural disasters to be unleashed within our Union to remind us that all countries, without exception, are affected by the consequences of climate change? We are collectively confronted with events of unprecedented intensity. Affected Central European countries can, if they wish, rely on the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for specialised reinforcements and equipment. This is also the case of Portugal, which, while Central Europe is under water, is facing devastating fires that claim many victims, including three brothers in arms firefighters for whom I have an emotional thought. With more than 30 years of experience as a fire officer, I have been able to measure on the ground the usefulness of European solidarity in the face of the increase in frequency and intensity of these phenomena that exceed all our standards. One country alone can no longer cope. As we can see, climate change has a cost. That is why, after giving a major boost to the Green Deal, we need to invest in order to bear less of the consequences of these extraordinary events. I am now asking and addressing Parliament, as well as the future Commission: we need an ambitious civil protection policy in strategic, human and material terms. It's urgent. This is also what our citizens expect from Europe. On a daily basis, in the face of climate change, they want a Europe...