In his book, Raphaël Glucksmann lists the mistakes and compromises of Europeans in the face of Vladimir Putin's regime: "Faced with Russia, we have been intoxicated, corrupt and naive (...) No regime has had such a destabilizing enterprise as the Russian regime. From cyberattacks on our hospitals to troll farms (...) that indiscriminately helped Catalan nationalists and Spanish ultranationalists, and participated in the victory of Brexit (...). All elections in Europe have been manipulated and we have to worry about the next European elections."

Raphaël Glucksmann talks about corruption and the "schröderisation" of our political elites. This is a reference to Gerhard Schröder, former German chancellor, who made the Germans completely dependent on Russian gas through the construction of the Nordstream pipeline. Just after leaving power, he went to work at Gazprom. According to the MEP, we should "prohibit our state servants from going to work for entities hostile to our cities and our values". He advocates "drawing up a list of entities dangerous to our democracies for which they would be forbidden to work".

Regarding European sanctions against Russia, they are progressive but inconsistent with sectoral exemptions such as diamonds and yet, Raphaël Glucksmann assures that "our interest is that Ukraine wins this war not out of humanism, but because it is our first line of defense (...). After Ukraine, would it be Poland or Lithuania?"

Therefore, do not hesitate to provide artillery, ammunition and tanks to the Ukrainians. For Raphaël Glucksmann, "what the Ukrainians are doing beyond being the first line of defense is to give us faith in our open societies (...). Our long-term strategic interest is the victory of the Ukrainians."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has brought down the security architecture in Europe "until Russia's annexation of Crimea, no state had annexed the territories of its neighbors, even during the Cold War. This was the basis for peace in Europe. It is a taboo that has been broken (...) Our leaders sacrificed Chechens, Georgians, Ukrainians and our own sovereignty."

The MEP considers that support for Ukrainians is realpolitik. "It has often been said that the European flag does not carry any form of attachment: now there are people dying every day in Ukraine for all the principles embodied by this flag," he said. "They will do good for the European Union by joining our club. Not just for moral reasons but for strategic reasons." Finally, Raphaël Glucksmann criticises Emmanuel Macron's comments on Taiwan. "Yes to strategic independence, but we cannot do it alone, without the Europeans. But Macron in China did not speak for the Europeans." Nor does he understand the French president's relentlessness on pensions. "It is neither the right reform, nor at the right time, and not very smart to tackle the leader of the CFDT from China!"

Show prepared by Isabelle Romero, Sophie Samaille and Perrine Desplats

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