Without filter, the chronicle of Mémona Hintermann, a senior reporter and former member of the Superior Audiovisual Council.
Un matraquage, une overdose d’horreurs, un cauchemar sans fin, peu importe le vocabulaire, l’air du temps se remplit d’un sentiment de vulnérabilité tous azimuts. Ce souffle qui nous accable – ou nous réveille, selon les tempéraments – traverse la France malgré les élans que procure le rugby. L’idée se répand que nous manquons de prise sur les évènements qui environnent nos vies, non seulement face la guerre à nos portes, mais aussi en tant que témoins – même à distance – de catastrophes naturelles classées XXL.
The victims of the Moroccan earthquake, the thousands of victims – we will never know the exact number – in Libya drowned under the torrents of mud, all these deaths have further darkened an already gloomy picture. The scorching summer of 2023, hotter than ever, is part of the suffocating scenery; the Greek and Canadian fires, which do not bode well for the future, fuel our sense of powerlessness. Enough is enough.
Certainly, humanity has already endured terrifying calamities – there is no need to go back to Noah. But if there was proof certifying that the upcoming disasters will reach a whole new dimension, it is the announcement of an irreversible melting of glaciers. There is reason to be stunned in this bath of violence, as many of our contemporaries admit. However, are we condemned to inertia and fatalism? It is difficult to accept the predicted defeat without fighting at all, at least for honor! How can we come to terms with the idea that it is truly too late to try to turn the tide? On a crucial subject that has fueled the breeding ground of social vulnerability throughout France for decades, we heard this week that « it is too late. » Disheartened confessions in Marseille, from police officers on the front lines facing drug traffickers.
Now, in this war, one face embodies the most hideous, the most revolting of injustices. Socayna, 24 years old, killed by a stray bullet while studying in her room located in a building caught in the armed rivalry of drug lords. This tragedy, which speaks to the grip of drugs on France, contradicts the stereotype that all youth in the suburbs have given up on dreaming of social mobility. The innocent victim (supported by her mother) fought to be a student refusing to belong to what is called a « lost territory of the Republic. » She was studying law. Perhaps she would have become a lawyer, a magistrate, one among others with a similar name, having a similar background. And believing, rightly so, in the power of the Republic to make us less vulnerable. She was a living proof of hope, a proof that vulnerability is not necessarily related to personal surrender. After all, isn’t repairing our vulnerabilities a moral commitment that propels us forward individually and on a national scale?
This is the meaning of the call made by Louis Gallois, former CEO of Airbus and SNCF, and Pierre Papon, former CEO of CNRS. They warn that the situation of scientific research and innovation in our country is very compromised. « An additional effort of 30 billion per year is needed, » they say, in addition to the 53 billion from the France 2030 plan. « The sovereignty of France is at stake, » according to these two experts who know the workings of the country well. This call corresponds to a change decided by Emmanuel Macron: if necessary, the government will resort to protectionism.
In a few days, a decree from Bercy will materialize this choice: no more 5,000 euros bonus for the purchase of an electric vehicle if it is produced outside the EU. For example, in China. Are we combating the dangerous feeling of vulnerability born from deindustrialization by rearming our policies? It is not too late to defend our opportunities. Believing in it is part of the survival plan.
