Macron calls nationalism a betrayal of patriotism
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron used an address to world leaders gathered in Paris for Armistice commemorations yesterday to send a stern message about the dangers of nationalism, calling it a betrayal of moral values.
With US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin sitting just a few feet away listening to the speech via translation earpieces, Macron denounced those who evoke nationalist sentiment to disadvantage others.
“Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism: nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism,” Macron said in a 20- minute address delivered from under the Arc de Triomphe to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One.
“By pursuing our own interests first, with no regard to others’, we erase the very thing that a nation holds most precious, that which gives it life and makes it great: its moral values.”
Trump, who has pursued “America First” policies since entering the White House and in the run-up to the congressional elections this month declared himself a “nationalist”, sat still and stony-faced in the front row as Macron spoke.
There was no immediate response from either the White House or the Kremlin to Macron’s comments.
The commemoration is the centrepiece of global tributes to honour those who perished during the 1914-18 war and to commemorate the signing of the Armistice that brought the fighting to an end at 11 am on Nov 11, 1918.
In a glass canopy at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe, built by Emperor Napoleon in 1806, Trump, Merkel, Macron, Putin and the other leaders listened through earpieces as the French
History sometimes threatens to repeat its tragic patterns, and undermine the legacy of peace we thought we had sealed with the blood of our ancestors. Emmanuel Macron, French President
president spoke.
Putin, who was last to arrive at the ceremony, gave Trump a brief thumb’s up as he greeted them.
In the week ahead of Sunday’s commemoration, Macron spent time touring World War One battlefields in northern and eastern France, repeatedly warning in speeches of the resurgence of nationalism, saying it threatened the unity so carefully rebuilt in Europe over the past 70 years.
In one interview, he compared the political tone now to the 1930s, saying complacency towards unbridled nationalism then had opened the way for the rise of Hitler.
In part, his warnings seemed aimed at far- right parties that have gained ground across Europe in recent elections, including in France.
In his address on Sunday, Macron said that “old demons are reawakening” and warned against ignoring the past.
“History sometimes threatens to repeat its tragic patterns, and undermine the legacy of peace we thought we had sealed with the blood of our ancestors,” he said.
After the ceremony, leaders returned to the Elysee Palace for a lunch to be hosted by Macron and his wife Brigitte.
Macron was to host the inaugural Paris Peace Forum in the afternoon, which seeks to promote a multilateral approach to security and governance and ultimately avoid the errors that led to the outbreak of World War One.
Merkel said in a statement the forum showed that “today there is a will, and I say this on behalf of Germany with full conviction, to do everything to bring a more peaceful order to the world, even though we know we still have much work to do.”
Trump, who champions a nationalist ‘America first’ policy, will not attend the forum but Putin is expected to. – Reuters