Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-11-30-Speech-3-122"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20051130.13.3-122"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, the events in France over the past few weeks have been unprecedented. Some people have referred to them as a revolution, and others as civil war. Yet the European Parliament is still saying nothing, and acting as though nothing had happened. It has been suggested in certain quarters that the riots were caused by unemployment, but it is questionable whether this factor could in reality have triggered such a coordinated outbreak. Only 100 of the 2 000 people arrested were foreigners, while most of the rest were immigrants with French passports.
I am not trying to say that the main problem lies with people of non-European origin. It is hardly surprising that people prefer to remain part of the civilisation of their ancestors, and there is every indication that Europe no longer holds such an attraction. The problem in fact lies with us, and it relates to demographic issues. The prevailing trend is to act as though we had reached the end of history, or in other words as though the world were peaceful and could be ruled by means of an ever greater number of directives. We are forgetting that it is not only pieces of paper that determine the political and economic situation.
We should not delude ourselves that the current events are merely a result of the economic downturn. What we are seeing is a dumbing down, and the consequences of nations choosing to reduce their numbers. If we carry on like this, Europeans will become a minority in their own continent."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples