Minister Patricia Mirallès at Midi Libre: “We must demonstrate the lying speeches of the extremes which make dazzling mountains and wonders”

La secrétaire d’État chargée des Anciens combattants et de la Mémoire, Patricia Mirallès. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

The Secretary of State for Veterans and Memory Patricia Mirallès will be alongside the Head of State this June 6 on the occasion of the D-Day commemorations. She emphasizes the importance of celebrating this anniversary.

This Thursday, June 6, France celebrates the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. You will be alongside the President of the Republic. Why is it so important to commemorate this event ?

First of all, it is the last ten-year commemoration where those who experienced it in their flesh will be able to bear witness to us and our young people. In a few years, these testimonies will be found in documentaries, in our history books or in press articles. The direct link must be maintained and this is the aim of the major collection that the President of the Republic has called for and which we are organizing with Rachida Dati. It’s also important because it will be the last time we can honor them like this, before so much force and emotion. The images of the American or Canadian veterans who arrived in recent days, the welcome they received from our young people, is unforgettable for them and for us.

The Liberation not only put an end to the Second World War, it enabled European construction. Isn't this a message that it would be time to call back ?

We often speak of Europe as an economic project, of uniting European forces to exert economic, commercial and cultural influence. All this is true, of course, but we too often forget that the heart of the European project is, above all, peace! The European Union has been our life insurance since the founding of the European project in 1957. We must not forget this when war is on our doorstep and Europe is deadly. The extreme right is the spirit of defeat, the end of this construction which has protected us, the alliance with those who want the end of our ideas, of our model.

"Why I support Valérie Hayer ? Because’she is at the head of the only list which is entirely pro-European& quot;

Three days before the European elections, what do you want to say to voters ?

I want to tell them: don’t make a mistake on two counts. First, this election really matters for our daily lives, for our social model, for our farmers, for our economy, for the environment. We have to go vote! It has nothing to do with an election where people vote without consequences!

Second, extreme candidates lie to their voters. They are presenting themselves in a European election in which they have nothing to do, promising measures which do not fall within European competence. And when they talk about Europe, their incompetence borders on lies. Look at energy, if we apply what they say, prices will increase and so will carbon emissions! We would lose on all counts.

You support the list led by Valérie Hayer, what sets it apart from the other candidates ?

Because she is at the head of the only list which is entirely pro-European, which wishes to strengthen the momentum of its construction, to strengthen our autonomy in all fields without forgetting to protect our social model like our farmers . On the right and the far right, we oscillate between Frexit and euro-bashing. On the left, it's a mix between pro-Europeans, apparently but who are not up to the big issues once in Parliament and do not vote on key texts, and Eurosceptics, between those who are say for Europe and those who want to undo it because they do not understand it, in the wake of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

"Have the RN deputies changed things ? No, they haven't done anything for years"

On the evening of June 9, the extreme right could collect nearly 40% of the votes. Don't the traditional parties have some responsibility ?

The rise of the extreme right is not the work of Emmanuel Macron. I hear the current little music, but it’s a groundswell that has lasted since the 1990s and that we fight on a daily basis. I remind you that at the time of the presidential election in 2002 and 2017, it was not Emmanuel Macron who was in power, it was the PS. And the Le Pens were in the second round.

With 25 deputies in the outgoing European Parliament, what have they done for Europe and for the French ? Have they changed things ? No, they have nothing been doing it for years.

In the event of defeat of Valérie Hayer's list, what initiatives should the government take ?

We are not there yet, nothing is decided. On the other hand, we must remain very vigilant in the current political context and further demonstrate the lying speeches of the extremes which are dangling mountains and wonders, while the only party which has been reforming the country for 10 years to move towards full employment and which is reducing gas to greenhouse effects, it’s us!

We know that young people are very far from politics. How do you plan to invite them to commit to citizenship ?

We must stop saying that young people are not interested in politics. We have a lot of young people in France, but we don't know how to tell them or talk to them, and I'm working on it. The commitment to citizenship surely begins by inviting them to come and lay a wreath of flowers and sing the marseillaise in a ceremony. National memory is a beautiful gateway to citizenship.

Comments collected by Olivier Biscaye