François Mitterrand: Le nationalisme, c'est la guerre!

A clip from the Dutch television program 'Zomergasten' in 2011 with Guy Verhofstadt as guest. The clip shows the last speech of François Mitterrand, president of France, towards the European Parliament in which he condemns nationalism in Europe as a source of war. The subtitles are in Dutch, following is his written speech in French:

"Many of you will remember the teaching of your parents, will have felt the suffering of your countries, will have experienced the grief, the pain of separation, the presence of death - all as a result of the mutual enmity of the peoples of Europe. It is vital to pass on not this hatred but, on the contrary, the opportunity which we have for reconciliation, thanks - it must be said - to those who, after 19441945, themselves blood-stained and with their personal lives destroyed, had the courage to envisage a more radiant future which would be based on peace and reconciliation. That is what we have done.

However, I did not acquire my own convictions in this way by chance. I did not acquire them in the German prisoner-of-war camps in which I was a captive, or in a country which itself was occupied - a situation which many of you will have experienced. I remember that even families who practised the virtues of humanity, of kindness, spoke with animosity when they talked about the Germans. When I was an escaped prisoner of war - or rather, when I was in the process of escaping - I met some Germans, then I spent some time in a prison in BadenWürttemberg, and I used to talk to the people, Germans, there and I came to realise that the Germans liked the French more than the French liked the Germans.

I say this without wishing to denigrate my country, which is no more nationalistic than any other, far from it. I say this to make it clear that, at that time, everyone saw the world from his or her own viewpoint, and that those viewpoints were generally distorting. We must overcome such prejudices. What I am asking you to do is almost impossible, because it means overcoming our past. And yet, if we fail to overcome our past, let there be no mistake about what will follow: ladies and gentlemen, nationalism means war!"

Video clip source:
http://programma.vpro.nl/zomergasten/archief/2011/Guy-Verhofstadt/Francois-Mi...

Speech text source:
http://rhetorique.com.pagesperso-orange.fr/mitterrand.htm
http://www.ellopos.net/politics/mitterrand-importance-of-multilingualism.asp?...

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• François Mitterrand
• le nationalisme cest la guerre
• Guy Verhofstadt
• zomergasten 2011

[TheDutchLoyalist]

Ik denk dat hij de bal mis slaat, Socialisme, c,est la guerre,,,,,,multiculturalisme, c,est la guerrre.....anders vraag je het maar eens aan de duizenden slachtoffers van Marokkaanse reljeugd of de harde werkende Engelsen die hun huis in vlammen zagen opgaan door de verrijking van de multicul......

[vinlud]

@TheDutchLoyalist De problemen die je noemt moeten aangepakt worden, niemand zal het daar mee oneens zijn.. :-) Maar ze hebben verder niks met multiculturalisme of socialisme te maken, Londen is wat dat betreft geen goed voorbeeld (Indiers en Turken die als eerste de buurtwachten organiseerden).

[PMFarin]

"I came to realise that the Germans liked the French more than the French liked the Germans."

not right :D

[Vedett89]

indrukwekkende speech!

[ardiesken]

thx voor de upload... dit zet al eens te denken.