Society & Politics

This speech by a French politician following the American intervention in Venezuela has caused quite a stir in France. What do you think about it?


" The intervention decided by President Trump in Venezuela calls above all for lucidity and pragmatism on our part.

As with the reactions to the American operation in Iran last June, there is a form of hypocrisy behind the hesitations to respond, the hollow statements, and the ineffective condemnations. Nicolás Maduro is a dictator who has oppressed his people and ruined his country, against Venezuelans’ aspirations to live freely.

So I will say it plainly: I do not regret his departure. What matters most in the days and months ahead is that the freedom of the Venezuelan people prevails, not the economic and oil interests of the United States. France and Europe must ensure this.
Let us look at things clinically: these events are above all another sign that the world is now governed by force.

In this dangerous and violent world, Europeans obviously have values to defend. But today they do so as powerless spectators of the disintegration of any form of rules, and too often as naïve defenders of institutions that are now completely outdated.
Contenting ourselves with being the last to defend and respect the United Nations Charter, or the rules of the WTO when it comes to international trade, is no doubt consistent with our history and faithful to our doctrine.

But it also means being completely sidelined. To those European and French leaders full of good intentions, I say this clearly: alas, we no longer have the means for such indignation. The world and the great powers are not waiting for us—neither in Washington nor even in Beijing.

This can and must change. To do so, even democracies must rediscover the path of strength if they hope for the rule of law to prevail again. And for France, strength means reinforcing our military capacity more than ever, refusing to let ourselves be erased, and relying on Europe—the only entity capable of raising our continent to the level of the challenges ahead. "

Gabriel Attal
This speech by a French politician following the American intervention in Venezuela has caused quite a stir in France. What do you think about it?
This speech by a French politician following the American intervention in Venezuela has caused quite a stir in France. What do you think about it?
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