Speech by president-Elect Nicolas Sarkozy
Paris, May 6, 2007 (excerpt)
(…) The French people have spoken. They have chosen to break with the ideas, customs and behavior of the past. I want to rehabilitate work, authority, morale, respect and merit. I want to restore the nation and the national identity to honor. I want to make the French proud of being French again. I want to end penitence which is a form of self-hatred and the competition of memories which feeds hatred of others.
The French people have opted for change. I shall be implementing change because this is the mandate I have received from the people and because France needs it. But I shall do so with all of the French people. I shall do so in a spirit of unity and fraternity. I shall do so in a way that leaves no one feeling excluded or left out. I shall do so with the resolve that everyone finds his or her place in our Republic, that everyone feels recognized and respected in his or her dignity as a citizen and as a human being. All those who have been broken and worn down by life must know that they will not be abandoned, that they will be succored and aided. Those who feel they cannot escape whatever they do must know that they will not be left out and that they will have the same opportunities as the others.
I call on all French citizens, irrespective of their party, beliefs and origins, to join with me to get France moving again.
I call on everyone not to let themselves be trapped in intolerance and sectarianism but to open up to others, to those who have different ideas, who have other convictions.
I want to issue an appeal to our European partners, to whom our destiny is linked, to tell them that all my life I have been European, that I believe in European integration and that this evening France is back in Europe. But I entreat them to hear the voices of people who want to be protected. I entreat them not to remain deaf to the anger of people who perceive the European Union not as a protection but as a Trojan horse of all the threats that come with the changes in the world.
I want to issue a call to our American friends to tell them they can count on our friendship which has been forged through the tragedies of history that we have confronted together. I want to tell them that France will always be at their side when they need us. But I also want to tell them that friendship means accepting that friends may think differently and that a great nation like the United States has a duty not to obstruct the fight against global warning but on the contrary to take the lead because the fate of all mankind is at stake.
I want to issue a call to all the peoples of the Mediterranean to tell them that it is in the Mediterranean where everything is being played out, and that we must overcome all hate to make room for a great dream of peace and civilization. I want to tell them that the time has come to build together a Mediterranean Union which will form a link between Europe and Africa.
I want to issue a call to all Africans, a brotherly call, to tell them that we want to help them vanquish disease, hunger and poverty, and to live in peace. I want to tell then that we will work together on decisions for a controlled immigration policy and an ambitious development policy.
I want to issue a call to everyone in the world who believes in the values of tolerance, freedom, democracy and humanism, to everyone persecuted by tyranny and dictators, to all oppressed women and children in the world to tell them that France will be at their side, that they can count on us.
My dear compatriots, together we are going to write a new page of our history. I am confident it will be a great and beautiful one, and from the bottom of my heart this evening, I say to you:
Long live the Republic!
Long live France!
Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
Statements made by M. Jacques Chirac, President of the Republic, at the Council of Ministers’ meeting – Paris, May 9, 2007
Slavery is not solely a tragedy of the past. Still today, hundreds of thousands of people in the world are victims of human trafficking: children, young girls, whole families, sometimes over several generations. More than ever, we have got to mobilize against this loathsome practice.
France is honour-bound to be in the front line of this battle to promote human dignity and human rights. Ours was the first country to recognize slavery as a crime against humanity.
With this Council of Europe convention, we are going to be able to strengthen international cooperation and so step up the battle against this heinous trafficking./
Northern Ireland
Press briefing given by Foreign Ministry spokesperson ( May 9, 2007)
France welcomes the setting-up in Northern Ireland of the new coalition government resulting from the March 7 election.
The formation on May 8, 2007 of a Northern Ireland government bringing together the main parties, and particularly the Unionists (DUP) and Sinn Fein, ends a tragic period in this part of Europe. The process of normalizing inter-community relations must be actively pursued.
We pay tribute to the personal, constant and long-term commitment of Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart, Bertie Ahern, who, step by step, have achieved the goal they had set themselves.
Thanks to the constructive dialogue thus initiated we express the wish that Northern Ireland will be able to look to the future and take up the economic challenges it faces.
Missile Defense
– Press briefing given by Foreign Ministry spokesperson ( May 11, 2007)
Q: Can you tell us about the rising tensions between the US and Russia over deploying the American missile defense system in the former Soviet countries? What do the Europeans and especially France think?
We’ve spoken about this a number of times.
With regard to relations between the Americans and Russians, I’ve no particular comment. I’ve simply seen that a dialogue has been established. We’ve discussed the missile defense project at the NATO-Russia Council. The Americans, I gather, sent envoys to Moscow to continue a dialogue on these questions. I don’t know whether the word ‘tension’ is the most apt word to describe the situation.
On the French side, we’ve said that we’re not directly involved in the bilateral US project for a missile defense system; and we hoped there would be dialogue on the implications of this project with respect to security, whether with the Europeans or with the Russians.
Q: The Europeans aren’t part of the project, but do you agree with it or not?
We’ve no opposition or reservations with regard to the American project. The Americans consider the project is needed for their security. With regard to our own security, it’s based more on the principle of nuclear deterrence which may in certain cases be supplemented by missile defense assets but which for us are more localized, more on an as-need basis, for example to defend our troops in an operation.
But it is the Americans’ decision, and it’s not our place to oppose it. It’s just that once there are implications for the security of Europeans, the security of the Atlantic Alliance, and when the Russians are also voicing a number of questions, we say it needs to be discussed. But I believe now that it has been extensively discussed. The Americans have explained many times that it is not a system directed against Russia or capable of stopping a nuclear power such as Russia. It is a system, for the Americans, which is directed against a missile threat from countries such as Iran, they say. I leave this to their judgment.
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