France: Macron puts 'fight for liberal democracy' at centre of French EU presidency

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SOT, Emmanuel Macron, French President (French): “We are that generation that is rediscovering the precariousness of rule of law and democratic values. First, liberal democracy in the political sense of the term. In recent years people said this regime Europe invented had become tired, unable to face the century’s great challenges. Nevertheless, I want to point out how the latest months showed it, the management of the pandemic by democracies, with parliamentary debates, with a free press, with free and open research and academic systems, have led to decisions much more protective of lives and economies than those of authoritarian regimes. We have, concretely, all together, demonstrated the inverse of a preconception that was setting in. That is why we will face the challenge in the fight for liberal democracy.”

SOT, Emmanuel Macron, French President (French): “This fight is, by the way, waged by several authoritarian powers at our borders. And it is coming back in several of our countries. We are seeing this revolution happening, as it comes to undermine the foundations of our history. Where tolerance and civility were at the heart of the process of our civilization, an idea is being reborn within our peoples. We will do everything to work towards that, and so that through dialogue, always, but without weakness, we can defend in all known situations, the strength of the rule of law.”

SOT, Emmanuel Macron, French President (French): “I wish that we consolidate the European values that make our unity, our pride and our strength. Twenty years after the proclamation of our Charter of Fundamental Rights, which consecrated the abolition of the death sentence everywhere in the Union, I wish that we can update this charter, among other things to be more explicit on the protection of the environment or the recognition of the right to abortion.”

SOT, Emmanuel Macron, French President (French): “So our challenge is to build an original model in the face of the century’s great challenges. A model for the future, which could enable us once again to keep this promise of progress. Climate is the first of these challenges. Europe is where, in Paris, in 2015, arose a universal climate consciousness. She is the continent which, with the objective of carbon neutrality by 2050, first gave itself the most ambitious goals on the planet. Now, we must pass from intentions to acts.”

SOT, Emmanuel Macron, French President (French): “The second challenge of the century is that of the digital revolution. We, Europeans, who believe more than anyone in spreading knowledge, we, who invented the figure of the ‘honnete homme’ thirsty for knowledge, who will reject this extraordinary movement. But our challenge is double. First, building a real single market able to create European champions.”

SOT, Emmanuel Macron, French President (French): “With regards to defence, finally. We cannot be satisfied to react to international crises. We need an anticipatory force that organises the security of our environment.”

SOT, Emmanuel Macron, French President (French): “What we need to build is a European order, founded on principles and rules which we have rallied behind, which we have put together not against or without, but with Russia 30 years ago, which I want to bring up. The rejection of the use of force, of threats, of coercion, the choice for states to freely take part in the organisations, the alliances, the security arrangement of their choice, the inviolability of borders, the territorial integrity of states, the rejection of spheres of influence. What I am speaking of are the principles that we, Europeans, and Russia signed 30 years ago.”

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French President Emmanuel Macron highlighted what he referred to as the ‘fight for liberal democracy’ as one of the key issues on the agenda as France takes the presidency of the Council of the European Union, in a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, on Wednesday.

“We are that generation that is rediscovering the precariousness of rule of law and democratic values. First, liberal democracy in the political sense of the term. In recent years people said this regime Europe invented had become tired, unable to face the century’s great challenges,” he said. “We have, concretely, all together, demonstrated the inverse of a preconception that was setting in. That is why we will face the challenge in the fight for liberal democracy.”

The French president added, “this fight is, by the way, waged by several authoritarian powers at our borders. And it is coming back in several of our countries. We are seeing this revolution happening, as it comes to undermine the foundations of our history.”

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