Valeurs actuelles: ""France is going through a crisis the likes of which it has perhaps never known in peacetime," says Louis de Bourbon".

Dear French people,

When I spoke, as I do every year, on August 25, on the occasion of Saint Louis Day, who would have thought that the months that followed would be so paradoxical, mixing the best with the worst.

The best, from a certain point of view, is certainly what we have just experienced with the Olympic Games. Admittedly, they were inaugurated in a blatantly disastrous manner, with a ceremony that was so unworthy of France that many countries refused to broadcast it on their national networks. Nevertheless, the Games gave the impression of a moment of renewed unity for our country. Like other nations, France was thrilled by the many achievements of its champions.

The successes achieved were many, and France's position was magnified. Let us thank those who have committed themselves to the limits of their strength, their courage and their will. Let's be proud of our medallists and warmly salute those of other nations, in a movement that we hope will continue in the coming days, for the Paralympic Games.

What is worse, however, is the deteriorating political situation our country has been in for months, to the point where, with a resigned government, we are now faced with a virtual vacuum of power. France is going through a crisis the likes of which it has perhaps never experienced in peacetime. A year ago, however, we expressed the hope that, despite the growing difficulties, changes might be on the way. Changes so necessary for our dear country, whose fractured society has been increasingly fragile for decades.

Beyond the accumulation of bad decisions taken (continuing a chronic deficit and feeding an abysmal debt, consequences of an increase in uncontrolled migratory flows, subversions of all kinds in terms of respect for values and public order...), we need to consider above all the knowingly and deliberately perverted spirit in which many decisions were taken, or many others were not.

Partisan ideas, private or communitarian interests and short-term options have all too often replaced the elementary rules of common sense, equity and justice, concern for the most vulnerable populations, and a full appreciation of social issues (internal and external security, family policy, the elderly, retirement, national defense, etc.).

We have to admit that the way our society is currently organized no longer meets the real needs expressed by the majority of French people. This clearly underlines the existence of a real and worsening divide between them and institutions that are performing their functions less and less correctly.

We are seeing an increasing number of our fellow citizens withdrawing from society. This withdrawal is expressed in a variety of ways: a return to bartering; a search for self-sufficiency rather than shared ease, which is the only source of wealth and progress; a retreat to the village, the département or the region. But is this the way to make a nation? Doubtless not, and France has always been a strong nation because, beyond its particularisms, it united all its children in a common destiny.

A year ago, France seemed to be at a turning point that would enable it to regain control of its destiny. The run-up to the elections seemed to offer the perfect opportunity to express lofty ambitions, by renewing certain political elites and redefining the issues at stake in European solidarity. Indeed, over and above economic issues, there is a need to clarify questions of sovereignty, security and the identity of our continent's components, in all their diversity, in the face of the dangers that threaten them (uncontrolled immigration, globalization of trade).

However, the real debate that seemed to be getting underway was overshadowed, in denial of the legitimate aspirations that seemed to be being forcefully expressed. The result has been a stalemate and an institutional deadlock that tends to weaken our country both at home and on the international stage.

As with all the profound crises our beloved country has experienced, we can only hope that this one is only temporary and that, in particular, this kind of inversion of values ceases as quickly as possible. The time for false balance sheets to hide the truth is clearly past, and the need for concrete, realistic action must be imposed on all of us, each in his or her own field, so that, on a daily basis, we can restore meaning to the word future.

Let us not doubt for a moment that France will recover. The French people are waiting for this renewal, this leap forward that will enable us to overcome the pitfalls that threaten our country. It's important, therefore, not to shut ourselves off in a dead-end isolation, but, on the contrary, to strive to give meaning to the political debate by devoting time to reflection and to actions carried out with a concern for the Common Good. Many young families are already committed to this approach.

On a personal level, this means setting clear objectives, often in opposition to prevailing ideas. On a collective level, this will mean abandoning denial and taking stock of what's going wrong, and accepting reality, even if this means making efforts and even sacrifices. Like our sportsmen and women, the French will need to have a winning mentality.

For our society made up of men and women, it is absolutely essential to reaffirm the principle of encouraging family values, the only guarantee of a positive evolution of our ageing society and a natural bulwark against the dangers of immigration. Defending life from conception to death must also remain a primary objective, with the unanimous support of the religions that have accompanied and continue to accompany, in their very diversity, the unfolding of our history. Finally, in the spirit of St. Louis, we must guarantee the rule of law, security and respect for people and property.

Because society is, by definition, a civil community, we need to restore social morality to its rightful place, in particular the "thou shalt not kill" principle, and to shared, clear, common rules that are accepted by all, are fair and are felt to be fair. The necessary balance between rights and duties. This civil and social life includes a clear definition of the principle of secularism, which must not be asserted as an exaltation of materialistic values or as an intentional and systematic hostility to the expression of religions, but rather as a means of allowing the expression of transcendent values, without which man cannot fully develop.

Finally, because France is a society set in an international context, our country's future requires us to reaffirm our commitment to Europe, based on respect for the national interests of all states, and relying on the principle of subsidiarity, always stated, but so often misused in practice. This European spirit of a truly fruitful civilization is the only way to add the soul the world is waiting for, at a time when dialogue and relations between states and blocs must be based on new foundations.

May our country, by rediscovering a sense of its mission, regain its inner strength to face the outside world. May Saint Louis, the model of government celebrated by Catholics on August 25, help us to regain hope in France's future.

Read the article on www.valeursactuelles.com

By Louis de Bourbon

Published August 25, 2024