Rethinking everything, (re)doing everything?

With the shock of the European elections still fresh and confusion reigning in France over the earthquake caused by the dissolution of the National Assembly, what should we remember and how should we react?

Clarity and unity

Chaos and division are the breeding ground for populism and anti-democratic tendencies. Clarity and unity are the antidotes.

Clarity in the vision for France and Europe, clarity in the concrete proposals, clarity in the refusal to compromise with extremists on all sides.

Unity that crystallises around humanist values and not exclusion, unity around a project that is not made up of simplistic answers to complex issues (characteristic of populism), unity finally in the desire to build together and not against each other.

In concrete terms, we expect a united republican front that is unambiguous and looks beyond electoral deadlines. This is vital if we are to vigorously counter the hate-filled rise of the far right and the equally irrational false promises of the far left on security, economic and social issues.

Finally, for all of us as citizens: let's openly denounce these dangers, influence our loved ones, educate our children and above all let the voice of reason be heard, which is that of a majority that is unfortunately all too inaudible!

Trust and transparency

The disconnection from reality as experienced by the population and shadowy power games are setting the stage for mistrust. Trust and transparency are the antidotes.

Many of the decisions taken by the current government are reasonable and necessary to deal with the accelerating crises, disasters and upheavals of our time. Even if on certain key issues, notably the environment and social justice, the current government is far from up to the challenge, the general course of revitalising the driving forces of society within a strong and united Europe is the right one.

But it is above all the way in which things are done that provokes rejection: a vertical approach that is perceived as technocratic, a lack of explanation of the expected positive effects, and the dif?culty of linking decisions to situations on the ground. The political manoeuvring of certain individuals or parties further exacerbates protesting opinions.

Could we imagine servants of the people doing the exercise of putting themselves in the situation and feeling of those to whom they owe their election? By doing so, they would be in a position to adjust their policies and messages so that they are better understood and accepted by all. Pragmatism and empathy, then. Better still: back it all up with a good dose of transparency on all the ins and outs of decisions and, above all, the humility to say "I was wrong" or "we're on the wrong track". One can dream, or at least hope...

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Values and education

Forgetting history, values and the European project means that destructive cycles are repeated. Remembrance work through education and putting our shared values into action by demonstrating their benefits are the antidotes.

The Second World War ended just 80 years ago. Have we learned nothing, understood nothing? Are we so blind? No doubt it has something to do with the gradual disappearance of direct witnesses to this challenging period. But in that case, it is up to us, the beneficiaries of the titanic effort to rebuild a Europe burnt to the ground by delirious nationalism, to pass on this memory!

I think of my grandmother, who lived through and recounted to me her memories of the German occupation. Even though, fortunately, she didn't experience any particular atrocities, the mere mention of the sound of occupying troops' boots on the cobblestones and the fear of being woken in the middle of the night for some arbitrary reason made her shudder and her eyes glaze over. You could feel it whenever she talked about it. It is this direct emotional link to events that is no longer transmitted today. A personal account has 100 times more impact than a paragraph in a history book...

I myself was born of a German father and a French mother, and by my very existence I am a direct beneficiary of the 'peace dividend'. It is dismaying and painful to see European integration, multilateralism and human rights gains being called into question. Where are we heading? A hellish, obscurantist spiral of inward-looking attitudes, hatred, selfishness and oppression, and a dramatic repetition of the mistakes of the past!

Values fade and eventually disappear if they are not lived and if we stop fighting for them...

What to do?

In today's French electoral context, there is only one valid response: to defend with all our might, and first and foremost with our ballot paper - and if necessary in the streets - these precious gains named in the motto of France. These gains that the far right seeks to destroy through hatred and division, and the far left through a denial of reality and empty promises.

We will not be able to master the major challenges that await us as human beings on the same fragile planet if we divide ourselves, if we turn in on ourselves, if we blame others for our mistakes. We need to react. Question our sometimes over-simplistic ideas. To question, to criticise, to engage in dialogue. As the heirs of those who paid with their lives for justice, peace, freedom and the rights we enjoy today, we owe it to the generations that will follow us.

This is where it all comes down. Let's take action. Now.