A defense of European unity as a preamble.
Traveling near Poitiers for the States General of Justice, Emmanuel Macron began Monday by lambasting in passing the questioning of European law, "old French disease", in allusion to the attacks in this direction of several presidential candidates of 2022 including Valérie Pécresse and Michel Barnier on the right.
"I am astonished to remain modest, to see that as soon as there is a problem we return to this old French disease which consists in saying:
it is Europe
", texts "signed, then ratified sovereignly".
"What is this business?"
We must therefore defend them, ”he said in Chasseneuil-du-Poitou, on the outskirts of Poitiers.
“Our justice has long been built in the dialogue of judges at European level.
This dialogue accompanied the political construction of the EU, it preceded it, ”he said.
"Europe is the Europe of nations"
He recalled in particular that texts, such as the European Convention on Human Rights "which France has sovereignly joined", constitute "fundamental tools for defending human rights.
This French and European humanism which makes us and distinguishes us is to be defended, ”he insisted.
These declarations come after the primacy of European law was called into question by several candidates for the LR investiture against a backdrop of tensions between the European Commission and Poland.
At the beginning of October, Warsaw had ordered Brussels not to "act beyond the scope of its powers"
by interfering, for example, in its judicial system or in matters of the rule of law.
An unthinkable for the European Commission which repeats over and over that "EU law takes precedence over national law".
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Valérie Pécresse, who has just taken back her card from LR, has also challenged the primacy of European law over the “constitutional identities” of EU member states.
“Europe is the Europe of nations.
This means that our constitutional laws, our constitutional identity, to each and every sovereign state, must take precedence over European jurisdiction, ”she defended.
Before her, the former Brexit negotiator, also candidate for the nomination, Michel Barnier defended the need for "legal sovereignty", but only in matters of immigration, because there will be "other Brexits" if nothing changes.
Finally, Xavier Bertrand, who has also just rejoined LR, proposed, for his part, to introduce into the Constitution "a mechanism to safeguard the superior interests of France".