Defense, immigration, competition… What to remember from Emmanuel Macron’s speech at the Sorbonne

Same place, same format: seven years after “Sorbonne 1”, on September 26, 2017, Emmanuel Macron once again rolled out a series of measures to move towards “powerful Europe” at the Sorbonne this Thursday. The head of state painted an alarmist portrait of Europe, affirming that it was in a “situation of encirclement”, “deadly”, ran the risk of being “relegated” in the face of competition from other great powers and called for a new surge of the Twenty-Seven by 2030.

Europe “in a situation of encirclement”

“We must be lucid today about the fact that our Europe is mortal, it can die,” he insisted in a new speech on the future of the EU at the Sorbonne, seven years after a first expression on the same issues in the same place. “It depends solely on our choices, but these choices must be made now” because “over the next decade, (…) the risk is immense of being weakened, or even relegated,” he said. delivered in front of 500 guests, including ambassadors from the 26 other EU member states, students, researchers and the entire government.

The French president spoke of a Europe “in a situation of encirclement” facing major regional powers and judged that the values ​​of European “liberal democracy” were “increasingly criticized” and “contested”.

“The risk is that Europe will experience a decline and we are already starting to see this despite all our efforts,” warned the head of state. “We are still too slow and not ambitious enough,” he also asserted, pleading for a “powerful Europe”, which “is respected”, “ensures its security” and regains “its strategic autonomy”. In a geopolitical context weighed down by the war in Ukraine, he called on Europe to further strengthen its defense within NATO, mentioning in passing the possibility for it to equip itself with an anti-missile shield.

European defense, a crucial issue

Emmanuel Macron announced that he would invite Europeans to build a “strategic concept” of “credible European defense”. He also called on Europe to strengthen its defense industry and pleaded for a “European loan”, a taboo subject particularly in Germany, to invest in arms. While refuting any “satisfaction”, he nevertheless welcomed the fact that the concept of European sovereignty, which he had advocated in his first speech in 2017, had “established itself in Europe”.

“Rarely has Europe advanced so much” during this period despite “a combination of crises”, notably the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, he added. “No one dares to propose exits anymore, neither from Europe nor from the euro,” he rejoiced.

A common political structure on the subjects of migration and terrorism?

Emmanuel Macron called on the European Union to “regain control of (its) borders” and “to assume it”, and proposed “a political structure” at European level on the subjects of migration, crime and terrorism. “If we want to resist this change of rules, this escalation of violence, this disinhibition of capacities on our continent and beyond, we must adapt in terms of strategic concept, means and we must regain control of our borders fully, entirely and assume it,” declared the French president.

He spoke of the creation of a “political structure” which would make it possible to take, between “countries which share it”, “decisions” on “the subjects of immigration, the fight against organized crime, terrorism, the fight against drug trafficking or cybercrime.

“Joint investment shock”

On the financial level, Emmanuel Macron pleaded for integrating into the missions of the European Central Bank (ECB) “at least a growth objective, or even a decarbonization objective” and called for “a shock of common investments” involving a doubling of the EU’s financial action capacity. “We cannot have a monetary policy whose only objective is an inflation objective, moreover in an economic environment where decarbonization is a factor in increasing prices,” he added.

“We once again need a common investment shock, a major budgetary investment plan” for in particular defense, artificial intelligence, decarbonization, he pleaded, recalling that this “investment wall” is estimated “between 650 and 1,000 billion euros per year”. “These are subsidies that we need (…) Is it a common borrowing capacity? Is it using mechanisms that exist today (…) At Basically, we must succeed in doubling our Europe’s financial action capacity or at least doubling it in budgetary terms,” he said.

Commerce, free trade

It cannot work if we are the only ones to respect the rules of trade as they were written 15 years ago,” said the French president, calling for a review of trade policy, because China and the United States do not “respect the rules more” by “subsidizing critical sectors”. “We must systematize the use of fair competition instruments”, he insisted. For the French president, “we are winners on Ceta”, the. free trade treaty with Canada, rejected by the French Senate, thanks to “mirror clauses”. He spoke of “a new generation trade agreement”, unlike Mercosur.

Towards a Europe of the digital majority?

Finally, the Head of State said he was in favor of the establishment of a digital majority in the European Union at 15 years old as well as “parental control” of access to social networks below this age. age. “I want to defend a Europe of digital majority at fifteen. Before fifteen, there must be parental control over access to this digital space. Because it is access, if we do not control the content, which is the fruit of all the risks and distortions of mind, which justify all hatred”, declared the French president in a long speech on Europe at the Sorbonne.

A campaign speech?

His speech was widely perceived in France as an entry into the campaign by the head of state while his camp is slipping six weeks before the European elections. The Élysée, for its part, refuted any electoral tactics, affirming that it aims to “influence the agenda” of the next European Commission following the June elections.

For his opponents, Emmanuel Macron is especially going on the offensive at a time when the RN list led by Jordan Bardella remains well ahead in voting intentions, with twelve to fifteen points ahead of the Macronist list of Valérie Hayer, according to surveys. . The communist Léon Deffontaines, like Les Républicains, asked that the president’s speech be “counted in Valérie Hayer’s speaking time”. Echoing the Head of State, Jordan Bardella will hold a press conference in the afternoon to present his program and thus try to impose a duel at the summit.