Time.news – At the gates of Paris, in a stadium-like atmosphere, in front of about 35 thousand fans in frenzy crowded in the largest hall in Europe and in front of half the government and his wife Brigitte, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, held his single rally before the first round of the presidential elections, scheduled for Sunday 10 April.
Welcomed by the audience like a star, to the rhythm of house music and with a light show performed by the supporters themselves, the candidate-president spoke for over two hours, calling for a stop to his nationalist opponents, Eric Zemmour and Marine Le Pen. : “We have become accustomed to seeing anti-Semitic authors parading in some television studios, others racist. Do not boo them – Macron said -, but fight them with ideas, with respect “.
The goal, Macron has made clear several times, must be “the unity of France”. And to convince the largest number of voters, especially in view of the second round, Macron turned to the sympathizers of the Gaullist right as well as the galaxy of the left, including the Greens. In short, it was a wide-ranging political discourse, a mix of proposals and ideas of different sensibilities.
Obviously there was room for war in Ukraine: “A few hours from Paris, bombs are raining down on democracy”, began the tenant of the Elysée. Then he added that “we will continue to invest in the defense sector, reaffirming the army-nation bond” because “the goal is to prepare for a war that could come and for new threats, such as cyber”.
Video by Leonardo Petrini
Highlighting the power of France, military as well as cultural, Macron added that “Europe will go forward” and will give the answer to world challenges, “but nothing will be done without France”. Interrupted several times by the crowd shouting “Macron president”, the candidate made a list of the results achieved in his five-year term and sent the ball back into the field of the opponents who in recent days have accused him of the millionaire contracts concluded between the state and private consulting firms, in particular the American McKinsey.
Macron then confirmed his will to relaunch nuclear power “for our energy independence”. And amidst a tribute to health workers for the fight against Covid and his wife Brigitte (complete with a kiss sent from the stage), the candidate president asked to “make the choice of a new era for France and Europe. “.
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Stadium with Macron supporters
In the river talk also recalled the teacher Samuel Paty, beheaded by an Islamist terrorist, adding that he will no longer accept certain realities, such as the difficulty of retirees to make ends meet or “entire neighborhoods stigmatized, where you don’t have the same chance” to face life. The reference is to the suburbs.
The president then used the famous motto ‘Freedom, Equality, Fraternity’ of the French Revolution, adding the word ‘secularity’. And citing prominent French writers, such as Charles Peguy and Andre Malraux, Macron said that equality between men and women will be “the great cause of the next five-year term”.
Furthermore, he reiterated, “it will be necessary to work more and longer, as in Italy, Spain and Germany”, therefore the retirement age will be raised to 65 years. The rally-show ended with the audience and the protagonist singing the national anthem, the Marseillaise.