Europeans: five French listlies debate on RFI and France 24

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French list leaders discuss major European and international issues on RFI and France 24. RFI / France24

Just weeks before the European elections, RFI and France 24 organized on Tuesday, April 9, a debate between five French list faces. They answered during 1:30 to the questions of Caroline de Camaret (France 24) and Frédéric Rivière (RFI).

Manon Aubry (FI), François-Xavier Bellamy (LR), Raphael Glucksmann (Public Place - PS), Yannick Jadot (EELV) and Nathalie Loiseau (LaREM) came back in a debate organized by RFI and France 24 on major European and international issues. Invited to represent the RN, Jordan Bardella gave up participating in the debate a few hours before the meeting.

During these exchanges # GrandDébatUE , several main themes were discussed, including the major economic challenges, the place of the European Union in the world and the issues of migration, or the environment and youth.

► Economic challenges

European citizens expect a lot from the EU in terms of purchasing power, growth, solidarity in the face of the crisis and the fight against unemployment. Despite the 1.9% growth in the euro area, France is below with 1.6%. So the question is: is the European Union good for growth?

First questioned, the candidate LR François-Xavier Bellamy believes that France needs the EU. " We can not do without the European Union to strengthen us in globalization, we need the strength of the single market, but unfortunately Europe has given way to a form of naivety ". The deputy mayor of Versailles considers that we must " demand reciprocity " and " rebalance globalization " to weigh against China and the United States.

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For his part, the leftist candidate for the PS, Place Publique and Nouvelle donne, Raphaël Glucksmann, pleads for an " EU-wide mental revolution ": " Customs barriers must be imposed at the borders of the Union. European, what is called a green and solidarity-based protectionism. It is also to leave this religion of the 3%, it is also to inject public expenditure to create European champions ". According to this essayist, Europe must " break with the religion of free trade and fiscal austerity ". It is necessary to " turn this market into a political and protective force ," says the head of the PS list.

The representative of La République en marche, Nathalie Loiseau for her part considers that " a market is good, but provided that there are the same rules for employers as for workers ". The former EU affairs minister points out that " today in the EU there is a huge divergence in tax and social terms between countries ". It criticizes the "competition of countries" between them and therefore calls for a " fiscal and social convergence in the European Union ".

The head of France list insubordinate, Manon Aubry believes for its part that it is necessary to " question the European treaties ". " Today, we have the constraints posed by the treaties, the 3% deficit, the free trade included in the treaties, the impossibility of giving state aid ," explains the former spokesperson. Oxfam. In this case, let's go to the end of the process and question the European treaties. "

The candidate Europe Ecology-The Greens, Yannick Jadot, defends " innovation, protection, sovereignty ", saying that " a strong economy is an economy that respects the environment, which offers prosperity to all those who work and those who do not work and it's an economy that innovates . " " The EU's manufacturing flaw is that it does not have a production policy, it does not have an industrial policy, so we compete against each other while we have the China, Russia, the United States. He argues. The head of the ecologist list militates for " a green protectionism " and intends to " sanctuary the public services and protect the vital infrastructures ".

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► Agriculture and green transition

Today, many organic farmers face extremely difficult situations. This is the case of one of them, based in Creuse, who has not received help for three years due to a software problem. Questioned by France 24 journalists during a report, he called for greater solidarity between the countries of the European Union.

On this issue, the head of the LR list François-Xavier Bellamy believes that it is necessary to " implement an agricultural policy that is really common, which imposes the same rules on everyone within the single market ", but also that we must stop " imposing rules on our farmers that we do not set for those who import into the European market. "

For the candidate EELV Yannick Jadot, it is urgent to reform the Common Agricultural Policy. " The results of the 9 billion euros of the CAP, it is a suicide every two days, it is a third of the farmers who has less than 360 euros per month to live, it is the desertification of our campaigns and it is biodiversity that dies. The former MEP (from 2009 to 2013) wants these " 9 billion euros are used to accompany all farmers to get out of pesticides ."

A suggestion on which Raphael Glucksmann agrees in part. We need to " redirect aid to help farmers make ecological transformation ," he says. " The CAP gives a bad direction to our society. We must arrect the aid differently, "says the candidate PS-Place Publique-Nouvelle Donne. " The European public subsidy must set a course. The EU loses its meaning because we do not know where it wants to bring us. If it is to protect a system that can not even feed its farmers, then in this case European funds are toxic ".

Manon Aubry, from La France Insoumise, shares the idea of ​​a renewed CAP, particularly in favor of ecology: " we can use the Common Agricultural Policy to reorient agriculture - to make a local agriculture, peasant, and public money to invest heavily in the ecological transition ".

For @ManonAubryFr, head of list La France Insoumise, "The rule of 3% poses a concrete constraint for the ecological transition. We can use the common agricultural policy to redirect agriculture and public money to invest heavily "# GrandDeBATUE 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/yt9TlRaseN

While Nathalie Loiseau says " share the diagnosis " on the climate hazard, she does not share the proposals put forward by the left-wing candidates, accusing Raphaël Glucksmann and Manon Aubry of being " addicted to public money ". The head of the list LaREM does not want to " bequeath to our children at the same time an ecological and financial debt " and considers that to be able to finance the ecology, " it is the savings of the Europeans that we must reorient towards the renewable ones " . Nathalie Loiseau defends the creation of a " climate bank so that money from Europeans goes to projects ".

► Migration Policy

On the subject of migration, the candidate Republicans François-Xavier Bellamy proposes a strict reception policy: " we want to welcome, but we do not want to suffer migratory flows. " We want to put an end to this simple assertion that setting foot on European soil, even illegally, means having a lot of chances to establish itself permanently on European soil, " said François-Xavier Bellamy. , which considers that " the asylum seeker must be able to apply outside the European territory. "

@ fxbellamy: "Reception has become the vector of an illegal immigration policy that is totally immaterial, the asylum seeker must be able to apply outside the European territory" # GrandDébatUE 🇪🇺 pic.twitter .com / asdhC0i1GW

" What you are saying is already what the European governments are doing unfortunately: they are delegating to the Libyan coastguards the responsibility of keeping people in hell, " Raphael Glucksmann told him. " There have been 20,000 deaths in the Mediterranean Sea, we must relaunch the rescue operations at sea , supports the candidate PS-Place Publique-Nouvelle Donne to the European. And if we want European solidarity, we need a European asylum system. Which is binding for the states and which is decided on a European scale "

Raphaël Glucksmann has also called Nathalie Loiseau on the words of the Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner, who deplored Friday that NGOs have " been accomplices " smugglers. The former European Affairs Minister said there was "no NGO volunteer who is not sincere ". " What I saw too, is that the smugglers take advantage, " said the head of the list LaREM, deploring moreover that a rescue operation of migrants is currently " blocked because of Mr. Salvini ".

But the representative of the Republic in motion also had to face the tackle of Yannick Jadot on this subject: " When this government closes the Franco-Italian border, refuses the Aquarius, you participate in the election of Mr. Salvini because France, along with the others, left Italy alone against 750,000 refugees, "said the environmental activist.

And Manon Aubry added: " There is a form of convergence between the policy that leads (Matteo Salvini) and the one you lead: who applauds with both hands when we see the migration policy in France and Italy? Respectively one and the other . The unsubstantial France candidate calls to face these questions " with humanity ", " addressing the causes of suffering " and welcoming " with dignity ".

🇪🇺 The European elections will take place from May 23rd to May 26th, 2019. The French will have to elect 79 deputies, whose mandate will last 5 years. They will sit in the European Parliament, in the Louise-Weiss building. pic.twitter.com/YKIvFEZCeS

► The future of the EU

At a time when Brexit is at the heart of the news, the question of the future of the European Union is central. On this subject, Nathalie Loiseau, head of list LaREM, believes that " the European construction is facing a failure ". It is necessary for her " to regain control of the conduct of the European project " with, for example " fewer commissioners, " she suggests. " There is Brexit and the failure of the British political class, but I am looking more at the failure of the EU. We did not know how to restrain the British, we had shameful Europe. It must lead us to introspection. "

For Manon Aubry, introspection is not enough. The EU must reform in depth. " This EU goes straight into the wall if we do nothing, " she says. It's a big commercial where we are consumers, where we are competing with each other ". Insubordinate France believes that the treaties must be renegotiated. If this is not possible, the head of the list warns: " We are going to overreact to the Commission and we say" here is the list of provisions that are problematic in the conduct of our policy, we will not respect them " . "

Yannick Jadot wants for his part " an environmental treaty that conditions all European policies ", " the project, it must be to gather around a common cause: respect for the living ". We need to change some treaties that " sometimes prevent us from acting " and " recreating a European dynamic ". " Europe gave 4 trillion to save the banks. We want the same amount for the climate and for a big project for the youth, a big Erasmus ", insists the head of list EELV, which militates for" a great European crossbreeding ".

A miscegenation, which François-Xavier Bellamy mistrusts, "if it weakens the singularity of the European peoples ". The head of the LR list believes that today " Europe is at a crossroads " and that if it arouses such a disenchantment, " it is because it has become the synonym of democratic dispossession. "Now, it is necessary to" move forward with blocks of cooperation to get out of paralysis "and" the sense of European adventure, "he concludes.

But Raphäel Glucksmann, head of the PS-Place Publique-Nouvelle Donne list, considers that it is above all a question of forging among Europeans, and young people especially " a feeling of belonging to a community of political destinies ", which would pass for example by a " European civic service ". " Erasmus is about 3 to 4% young people, he points. As in the eighteenth century, an aristocracy is created which knows Europe and, next to it, peoples who do not know each other . The essayist wants to " democratize that ".

The last word is for Manon Aubry, asked about "what does the European youth want today? The top of the list LFI wants to finish on a note of hope. " Youth is present in the streets on climate issues, every Friday, it is aware of the danger and climate challenge. So I put the concrete proposals on the table so that Europe reconciles us with young people: the green rule - not to take to Earth more than it can restore - 100% renewable energy from here 2050 and solidarity protectionism to stop bringing products from the other side of the planet that can be produced here. "