Hollande protects the euro from the attacks of extremists

On 8 May, on the anniversary of the Allied Forces victory against Nazi Germany marking the end of World War II, François Hollande, the French president, used the occasion to defend the European project. He wished that all the French citizens could listen to what he had to say. To this effect the French president published an article in the prestigious “Le Monde” daily, only two weeks ahead of the European Elections. The article was entitled “Exit from Europe is exit from the story”, delivering in eight words the full message he wanted to convey to his fellow countrymen. With this article, he also reminded the solemn warning of François Mitterrand, the French president from 1981 to 1995, who left his mark in the contemporary history of the country. In his last and historic speech in front of the European Parliament, Mitterrand said that “Nationalism means war and Europe means peace”. Before the important “Rendez vous” of the European elections, planned for the 22-25 May, today’s occupant of the Champs-Élysées presidential Palace warned his compatriots about the dangers lurking in populism and the temptation to “Exit from Europe”. He solemnly declared that this is “Exit from the history”, and advised the adoption of a “Voluntary Europe”. The populism of Front National According to the French President, Europe is “threatened by powers which would like to destroy it, by speculating on the deception, by betting on the discouragement, by digging up fears”. Hollande uses so strong words because he knows well that the Front National, the Eurosceptic, racist, extreme right wing party of Marine Le Pen, may win this European election, leaving behind both the socialists and the center-right political formations. If this will be the case, the European Parliament will be rather a difficult place. Marine Le Pen, and his father, Jean Marie Le Pen, the previous leader and founder of this awkward party seen as a prospering family business, both have served as European deputies, but they never participates in any European Parliament session. Undoubtedly the National Front deputies in the next EU legislative will play a destructive role. The more of them the larger their negative impact on the EU institutions. Obviously Marine Le Pen actually ‘uses’ the EU election to formulate her plans plans for the next presidential confrontation of 2017. She tests various slogans and tricks to be used after three years. The main policy proposal of the Front National is to work for the end of the common European currency, the euro. François Hollande considers that the abandonment of the euro could be “a deadly trap, for the country”. He supports a Europe, “which is solidly based on the Eurozone, revives its economic powerhouse, abandons the blind austerity, manages the finance with the banking union, makes sure that the European market should be an advantage for the globalisation and defends its currency against irrationals agents”. France, Germany and Poland The widely advertised Weimar Triangle event has relaunched the friendship between France, Germany and Poland. For this event, the French president invited in Paris his polish homologue, Bronislaw Maria Komorowski. Together they laid a wreath in front of General De Gaulle’s memorial. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle led from London the Free French Forces during World War II. After the victory he founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first president from 1959 to 1969. After De Gaulle memorial, the two presidents walked on the Champs-Elysées Avenue to reach the statute of the Unknown Soldier, where they ceremoniously revived the flame in front of the “Arc de Triomphe”. Hollande wanted to pay tribute to the polish people for the heavy losses they suffered during WWII, and did that in the presence of his Polish guest. In this way the head of the French state demonstrated also his commitment to the European Union, being supported in this by Komorowski, a stout European. In the Press conference held afterwards by the two presidents, François Hollande also stressed, that the will of Paris and Warsaw, to “Relaunch the Weimar’s triangle, which means close friendship between France, Germany and Poland, remains very strong. In the currently unstable political conjuncture in Europe, the three countries are thought to be the strongest pillars of the EU project.