After the celebrations of the 80e anniversary of the Landings to which he had been invited, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed French deputies in the National Assembly on Friday June 7. The leader received a standing ovation from the elected officials and ministers present.
“Europe has ceased to be a continent of peace” since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, said the Ukrainian president, qualifying Russian President Vladimir Putin, “common enemy” of his country and of Europe. The Ukrainian leader also said he hoped that the peace summit, scheduled for June 15 and 16 in Switzerland, would make it possible to “bring closer” of a “just end to this war”. This conference could be Ukraine’s “D-Day”, he added the day after the ceremonies in Normandy.
Faced with a National Assembly which had not had its fill, the Ukrainian president painted a black picture of the situation in Europe where the war led by Russia would have brought back ” Nazism “. “Again in Europe, cities are completely destroyed and villages are burned. Filtration camps, deportations and hatred appear again in Europe »he listed. “We live in a time when Europe is no longer a continent of peace”he summarized, attacking the Russian president head-on.
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“Can we win this battle? Certainly yes “
“Look at what Putin is doing to his own country and his own people. It is a territory where life no longer has value. It is the complete opposite of everything we aspire to and of our values, it is the opposite of freedom, the opposite of equality and the opposite of fraternity. So, it’s the opposite of Europe, it’s anti-Europe”did he declare.
Thanking France on several occasions for its military and diplomatic support, while Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday evening the transfer of fighter planes to kyiv, the Ukrainian head of state affirmed that victory was possible, despite the progress Russians on the front. “Can we win this battle? Certainly yes “assured the Ukrainian president. “For a just world, we need more today”he nevertheless estimated. “It’s not a reproach, it’s how we defeat evil. » “This battle is at a crossroads, this is the moment when we can, all together, write the history we aspire to, or we can become victims of history as our enemy wants – I emphasize our common enemy »he estimated.
This is the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that Mr. Zelensky has given a speech in person within the Palais Bourbon – on March 23, 2022, he addressed French deputies by videoconference.
MPs, “honored” or “worried”
Mr. Zelensky’s arrival at the Palais Bourbon was received differently in the ranks of elected officials. “It is a great honor given to the deputies of the Republic to be able to welcome President Zelensky. He was able to make an extremely strong speech of friendship towards France and [faire part] the support he needs”declared Sylvain Maillard, president of the Renaissance group, to Agence France-Presse. “It was a serious, extremely strong speech which reminds us of our responsibilities”also judged the head of the environmentalist deputies, Cyrielle Chatelain.
On the LFI side, Arnaud Le Gall regretted a speech “who is not welcome two days before the elections” European Sunday “without debate” to the Assembly. “It’s not the right day, there is an exploitation of the conflict”added Bastien Lachaud (LFI).
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“Listening to the president of a country that we support in his resistance to Putin is important”, estimated the national secretary of the PCF, Fabien Roussel. But the latter said to himself “extremely concerned about the comments made by President Zelensky” and parallels made with the Second World War. “He calls for Europe to enter a third world war, we all said ‘never again’”. He also criticized the announcements made Thursday by Emmanuel Macron, in particular on the sale of Mirage 2000-5 to Ukraine. “We are asking for at least a debate in Parliament with a vote”he insisted.
