“We are missing some elements of response” against the extreme right, Emmanuel Macron admitted on Thursday during his trip to Barcelona, who says he refuses to “commit” to “nationalist” formations based on “hatred of the other”.
“I am not one of those who think that we can compromise with the extreme right”, but if “it rises up in our countries, in our democracies in Europe, it is because it manages to convince”, affirmed the French president, elected then re-elected in front of the leader of the French extreme right Marine Le Pen, who obtained a record 89 deputies in the legislative elections in June.
For Macron, there is a “difficulty in remembering history”
“We cannot remember this history and these specificities of the extreme right” for which “it is the rule of law that must be changed”, he pointed out on the sidelines of a Franco-Spanish summit, stressing that “the freedom of journalists, university and academic freedom, the independence of magistrates (were) threatened” in the countries where he came to power. In addition, “in its history the ultra-right, sometimes in one of its components, is related to anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia,” he recalled.
Emmanuel Macron warned against “a mental confusion” that “sets in, some would say out of pragmatism, I would rather say a slip or weakness”, when “we will gradually accompany a normalization movement of the extreme right because it is convenient to strike chords. I don’t think it’s good.”
“We must be intractable in this matter but intractable in drawing the consequences for ourselves (…) in terms of political effectiveness, revitalization of the political, democratic and republican field. and European level,” he pleaded.
“Better Protection”
Faced with the “fears” that “transitions” arouse, particularly energy ones, “we progressive democrats (…) need to know how to give answers that allow us to propose a possible future and that reassure us,” he said. list
“We need to recover the ability to better protect, in terms of security, economy, industry, without a doubt the working classes and the middle classes,” he insisted. “Sometimes it’s when we can’t get results quick and strong enough and convince that we have our compatriots who are turning to the extreme right.”
Finally, “we must not forget to defend democracy and the rule of law” which continue to be “fragile” and are not “an achievement”, he concluded.
Source: BFM TV
