Trudeau hit (and miss) in France
PARIS — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ventured into the heart of French democracy Tuesday in hopes of enlisting his hosts as progressive, like-minded defenders against the onslaught of such global perils as climate change, authoritarianism and inequality.
His message — a call to arms of sorts in the face of anxiety and division both at home and around the world — was delivered almost entirely in French, and with Trudeau’s usual rhetorical flair, on the occasion of a Canadian prime minister’s first-ever speech to France’s National Assembly.
Not everyone swooned — especially not nationalist leader Marine Le Pen, and especially not when talk turned to the Canada-EU trade deal.
A number of MPs grumbled audibly about the trade deal, known as CETA. One MP later accused him of cheap sales tactics. And Le Pen, the National Front leader, sat stonefaced as Trudeau sang the praises of values like openness and diversity.
Trudeau began his address with a now-familiar message, sermonizing about the fear and anxiety that’s
at work around the globe, pushing the disenfranchised further away from what he considers the shared progressive goals the world ought to be working toward.
As causes, he cited stagnant wages and job insecurity, against a backdrop of growing income inequality between the rich and the poor; divisive political discourse that breeds
populism and threatens democracies; and the ever-present threat of climate change.
“It is at this time that we have to admit that change does not always amount to progress,” Trudeau said in French.
He sought to tie Canada and France together as allies in an axis of progressivism, two countries with the ideals and the willingness to fight back against such dark forces.
Gender equality was one weapon that the two allies could brandish together, the prime minister said as he noted that France has made more progress than Canada in growing its proportion of female parliamentarians.
Canada and France have also committed themselves to defending the environment, he added.
“If there is one thing that France and Canada know, the fight against climate change must be conducted by the whole world because the consequences of global warming do not have any borders,” he said.
The speech was, for the most part, a hit — large sections of the assembly applauded lustily at various points, including the entire chamber when he mentioned Canada’s role in the two world wars.
But beyond that, Le Pen and other members of the National Front, which criticizes immigration to France and pushes for protectionism over free trade, offered only tepid applause, or sat on their hands entirely.
French MP Daniele Obono called Trudeau’s sales pitch on CETA “unbecoming.”