LOIG CHESNAIS GIRARD PRESIDENT OF BRETAGNE CALLS FOR ACTIVE AUTONOMY

USPA NEWS - At the closing of the annual congress of the 18 regions of France, ie the 13 regions of Metropole and the 5 of the Overseas Territories, the three speeches apart from that of PM Elisabeth Borne, aligned themselves with the same motto “More Active Autonomy to the Regions” chanted as an “outstretched hand” to the government…. "a hand that is caressing and non-sovereignist" says Carole Delga, who thus launched the Apple of Saint Malo, after the Marseille Appeal in 2018 and the Fort de France Appeal (Martinique, Overseas Territory). While on the same day, September 28, 2023, the President of the Republic was in the process of granting “Autonomy to Corsica” from Ajaccio….requested for a long time by the President of the Region of Corsica, Gille Simeoni, independentist. Indeed, President Macron launched, in Ajaccio, a “new institutional stage”, making it conditional on unanimous agreement of the island's elected officials. His speech in front of 63 elected officials "Let us have the audacity to build autonomy for Corsica in the Republic" declared President Macron, judged satisfactory by the right of the Island of Corsica, but not the nationalists.

At the closing of the annual congress of the 18 regions of France, ie the 13 regions of Metropole and the 5 of the Overseas Territories, the three speeches apart from that of PM Elisabeth Borne, aligned themselves with the same motto “More Active Autonomy to the Regions” chanted as an “outstretched hand” to the government…. "a hand that is caressing and non-sovereignist" says Carole Delga, who thus launched the Apple of Saint Malo, after the Marseille Appeal in 2018 and the Fort de France Appeal (Martinique, Overseas Territory). While on the same day, September 28, 2023, the President of the Republic was in the process of granting “Autonomy to Corsica” from Ajaccio….requested for a long time by the President of the Region of Corsica, Gille Simeoni, independentist. Indeed, President Macron launched, in Ajaccio, a “new institutional stage”, making it conditional on unanimous agreement of the island's elected officials. His speech in front of 63 elected officials "Let us have the audacity to build autonomy for Corsica in the Republic" declared President Macron, judged satisfactory by the right of the Island of Corsica, but not the nationalists. It is therefore the President of the host Region, Brittany, Loig Chesnais Girard (Social Democrat) alongside the President of the Regions of France, Carole Delga Social Democrat), who also presides over the Occitanie Region, the President of the Senate, Gerard Larcher.

PRESIDENT MACRON TAKES THE STEP AND OFFERS CORSICA AUTONOMY, FROM AJACCIO “LET US HAVE THE AUDACITY TO BUILD AUTONOMY FOR CORSICA IN THE REPUBLIC"


According to the Journal Monde, President Macron made on September 28, 2023, from Ajaccio, "In two sentences and after twenty-five minutes of a speech which counted around forty, the head of state broke a taboo almost fifty years old. “I am in favor of a new step being taken,” he had said a few moments earlier. “To fully anchor Corsica in the Republic and recognize its singularity, we must move forward and for this, Corsica must enter our Constitution, he said. It is your wish, I share it and I make it mine because I respect and I recognize the history, the culture, the specificities Corsicans in the Republic.”

REMARKS BY LOIG CHESNAIS GIRARD PRESIDENT OF BRITTANY REGION ASKING FOR MORE ACTIVE AUTONOMY VIS SVIS THE STATE

Madam Prime Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen Ministers, Mr President of the Senate, Madam President of the Regions of France, dear Carole, Ladies and

Dear Regional Presidents, Mr President of the CESER of Brittany,
Mr President of the CESER of France, Mr Mayor,

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear all,

First, I want to tell you how happy Brittany is to welcome you all for this Congress of the Regions, here in Saint-Malo, at the Palais du Grand Large.

I thank everyone who made this conference possible. This congress is for me the opportunity to pay homage, a tribute to this western extremity, this piece of Europe and its constellations of islands in the ocean, this land of traditions furiously anchored in modernity, overflowing with 2 landscapes loved ones who shape imaginations and anchor belongings, who speak several languages, a territory of freedom and humanity, firmly rooted and open to the world.

“FRANCE IS ONE & MULTIPLE LIKE EUROPE IT IS PART OF THE WHOLE ” LOIG CHESNAIS GIRARD STATED

France is one and multiple. Like Europe of which it is a part of the whole; like its regions which compose it and form a whole. Its regions themselves are made up of departments, intertwined with agglomerations, dotted with municipalities, dotted with neighborhoods... each set and each sub-set claiming singularities and specificities. Nothing extraordinary, I don't know of any country that is an absolutely homogeneous bloc. » Loig Chensais Girard, explained

And fortunately ! And political organizations are just as varied. France, like each region that makes it up, has its history which led to the territorial organization that we know today. She was not born in a day, and not without bumps or pain. Let’s remember how far we’ve come since the 1950s!

De Gaulle, in 69 in Quimper, had already perfectly foreshadowed what the Regions should be: a “new framework of initiative, advice and action for what locally affects the practical life of the nation”. Two waves of regionalization then, a regrouping…

We will always find fault, to redistrict – we could also talk about the redistricting of Brittany, in passing, dear Christelle, whose administrative reality does not overlap with the historical territory but it works. It is clear that the Regions, as political and administrative entities, despite pitfalls and limited resources, are a success! I will give you three examples: The TERs. Without dedicated taxation, the Regions have been able to invest in infrastructure which does not belong to them but which makes it possible to offer a low-carbon means of transport, for the benefit of residents. It is now a better public transport service for citizens. And we could go even further! We know that an agreement has been reached with Ile-de-France on the financing of mobility. As Clement Beaune committed to yesterday, we must move forward for other regions. Let’s engage in collective work.

Second example: high schools. While a scandal has rocked the United Kingdom since the start of the school year, due to the deplorable state of their school buildings, we can rejoice on this side of the Channel. Because, entrusted to the Regions, to the departments for the colleges, to the municipalities for the schools, the buildings which welcome our children are the subject of a lot of care. They are not just walls, they are a place for our youth to live. It is, as Mona Ozouf says so well, “the heart of the republican enterprise […], the place where we profess indefinite perfectibility and man’s control over his destiny”. So, I will have the pleasure of inaugurating the new Mona-Ozouf high school tomorrow in Ploërmel. I invite you to discover this woman, to read her. This fiercely republican Breton, so anchored in our history, our identity and our roots. A breath of fresh air to read it and enthusiasm for the future.

Finally, third example: channels. Let me here offer a typically Breton example. Military and industrial heritage... for around ten years, following the transfer of the State, the Breton canals have been managed by agents of the Region. With brio. Both on the development of the banks, the 4 deployment of soft mobility, the development of river tourism, the protection of biodiversity, the fresh water reservoir that this network represents... Our river heritage is today benefiting from a second wind , like the territories it crosses, Central Brittany in particular, which benefit from a new energy inspired by local partnerships.

You said last year, my dear Carole - and Madam Prime Minister later used the term - that together we were a “France team”. I share this vision. Together, all communities, whatever their level, make up the France team. From village mayor to President of the Republic. Madam Prime Minister, you reminded Vichy last year that it was necessary, I quote, “to take into account the specificities of each territory, their diversity, their strengths and their fragilities” and added that it was necessary to “give everyone room to maneuver and trust [us] to experiment and innovate”, with real clarity on the allocated resources.

“ONLY THE COLLECTIVE ACTION WILL MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO SUCCEED” LOIG CHESNAIS GIRARD SAID

Loig Chesnais Girard, said it loudly, as he agreed with he counterparts, calling up for more autonomy to the Regions of France “I totally agree with you. And I agree with you: “only the collective will make it possible to succeed”. This collective must be well organized and well armed to meet the challenges and lead the fights. A large but disorganized and poorly equipped troop would only suffer disappointments and debacles... until defeat.

LOIG CHESNAY GIRARD PLEDGES FOR A CLEAN ENERGY AS A POWERFUL CHALLENGE

However, the challenges facing France affect and exceed it at the same time:
1-Action against climate change? We must close the parenthesis of fossil fuels,

2- The issue of global security, compromised in particular by the war raging on our doorstep, on the European continent,

3- Finally, and the evolution of the two perils that I cited previously will also determine the extent of this third challenge: migration management. Allow me to clarify, the management, without naivety but imbued with humanity, of migrations, of men, women and children. We are already facing these challenges, and we will all have to face them again, individually and collectively.

Whether you are from Saint-Malo, Breton, French, European, or all of these at the same time, Corsican or Martinique, Occitan or Haut-de-France, Parisian or Castelmoron-d’Albret. From whatever territory we come from, faced with these challenges, we must always maintain one and the same compass: the meaning of the Republic and the values of democracy. And this is certainly the biggest fight we have to face together, the France team. We observe it, there is a risk of cracks in our very foundations.

“IN 2023, MORE THAN HALF THE WORLD POPULATION LIVES IN A DEMOCRACY THOUGH 1/3 IS LIVING UNDER AUTHORITARIAN REGIME”

The President of Region Brittany, reminds the rie of authoritarianism, “Internationally, we see populations living in democracies shrinking like nothing else. In 2023, less than half of the world's population lives in a democracy. Today, more than 1 in 3 people in the world live under an authoritarian regime or dictatorship. At the national level, we see the extremes gaining ground, protests becoming more radical, democratic dialogue becoming indifferent.”
Loig Chesnais Girard, warns over the increase of extremism and populism, even in his region, Brittany, renowned for being historically a welcoming region and hosting a melting pot

“In Brittany too, despite its reputation as an open and welcoming region, which has always had a low representation of the extreme right, we find ourselves confronted with a multiplication of hateful and hostile acts to the values of openness and solidarity that the we defend here. "

This explains that when elected Mayors have been violently attacked and threaten to death

“Attacks against the symbols of the Republic are not new. But today it is elected representatives of the Republic who are attacked, violently, and whose lives are threatened. I think of Jean-Yves Rolland, from Callac, but I think just as much of Yannick Morez then Dorothée Pacaud of Saint-Brévin les-Pins, as of Vincent Jeanbrun of Hay-les-Roses.”


Loig Chensais Girard emphasize the violence that hits France for a couple of years, in many cities, difference, regions, and not only related to the Parisian Suburbs. He explains that by the misery, the rise of inflation and the too low payrolls of any citizen issued form the middle class
“There is latent social violence, which increases with the rise of inflation, exclusion, downgrading, impoverishment and fear. There is this feeling among some of our fellow citizens that we must break the system, that we are no longer useful! Also, we must renew the social contract. To do this, we need a pact between us, the government and communities: everyone in their role. In battle order, without denying our differences. Each in their own areas of expertise

“TO BE EFFECTIVE WE MUST INVOLVE ALL COMMUNITIES ! COMPARTMENTALISATION WOULD BE A MISTAKE” LOIG CHESNAIS GIRARD AS HE ADDRESSSED THE P.M
President of the region Brittany, sent another call as he addressed the PM Elisabeth Borne, waiting for her time to jump on stage and deliver her official Remarks, “Not just for his own personal interests, but for the general interest. The major supranational challenges calling for a national response, strengthened by the power of a united collective, united by common objectives. Local issues, requiring adapted solutions, as close as possible to needs, tailor-made by local authorities. Also, that all levels of power do not promise everything to everyone, because we would only reinforce distrust of public authority.”

He continues, forcefully “Everyone in their position, in a spirit of support and cooperation. It’s a change of mindset that we need to implement. Efficiency requires working together, including, incidentally, for state agencies. You also said it, Madam Prime Minister, “to be effective, we must involve all communities. Compartmentalization would be a mistake.” Loig Chesnais Girard, adds to his call, a politician touch “It is in this spirit that Brittany has worked on a base of proposals for a Republic of territories with fortified democratic foundations, which I have entrusted to you. Mr. President of the Senate, don't worry, I will send you a copy as well. These proposals are the result of a transpartisan dialogue that I welcome today because several of the regional advisors are in the room. This work is the fruit of lessons learned from the experiences of decentralization and attempts at deconcentration in recent decades.” He kept for himself the unveil of the proposals in line with the Regional Conference of the Sea and the Coast “Thus, without revealing the entire report, these proposals aim to secure the landing of national policies at the regional level, in Brittany or elsewhere, because our reflections are also national in scope. Thus, it was identified that consultation, at the regional level, works. Following the example of the Regional Conference of the Sea and the Coast.” He adds, as Brittany is to play a central role in the energy transition Plan donated by the French Gouvrenment “ Organized by the Region, it was useful and effective for the deployment of renewable marine energies. And if authorizing consultation does not require additional resources, this needs to be confirmed and strengthened.” In a very opportune way, the President of Region Brittany, recalls the importance of the European Fisherman role and their impact in that matter “ By the way, since I am talking about the sea, let me tell you that we must all together take care of the subject of fishing, of our fishermen, who European fishermen are the most powerful defenders of biodiversity 8 by compared to other fisheries in the world and in particular fishing from distant countries and factory boats with men and women on board who unfortunately could be described as slaves.We need to work on this. ” Loog Chensasi Girard who is named in a very genuine “Breton” way, stressed his native citizenship, “Breton that I am, I of course want to protect the dolphins but I also want to protect my fishermen. Furthermore, certain tax measures would benefit from being renovated, while remaining at a constant budget. ” He put his nativity and Breton’s identity on te take to pledge for a new local framework, when it comes to the Public housing policies, which Brittany suffers the most, according to the studies “Let’s take inspiration from Breton Pinel! Accepting that the mapping of Pinel could have been designed by local elected officials on a regional scale was a real vector of efficiency. Let’s continue with the zoning of housing policies.”

LOIG CHESNAIS GIRARD BRAGS THE EFFICENCY OF A LOCAL MAYOR OVER THE PARISIAN’S CONSELLOR Loig Chesnais Girard, put himself in the shoes of a local mayor, as he sees him more efficient closer to the people than a Parisian Technocrat form Paris, sent by the government, too far from reality, disconnected from the real regional issues “A mayor and his intermunicipality will always know how to do it better than a councilor in Paris on his Excel spreadsheet. Other systems, other skills, however, will require more resources. This will first involve making trade-offs in our public policy choices and identifying gains and room for maneuver in our organizations, from communities to the State. This requirement for efficiency must be found at all levels. And necessarily, this will of course raise the subject of taxation. A renovation is necessary on a European scale, as well as on a local scale. ” He dares asking for a brave date to be opened up on taxation, to gain more trust versus responsibility “ We must therefore have the courage to open the debate. This debate on taxation goes beyond the strictly financial aspect, it is a debate on responsibility and trust. So let's get out of the vanity and pretensions market and stand together. The question today is no longer who wins what, but how to organize ourselves to breathe new life into our democracy."

“ A COUNTRY, A REGION IS NOT JUST A PROJECT ON PAPER " LOIC CHESNAIS GIRARD
Loig Chesnais Girard concludes by asking strongly the government to restore the Republican spirit that drives the public servants accross France, and being more pragmatic actions, less vertical “We have a responsibility that goes beyond the immediate manager. We must restore meaning to the Republican experience. For the women and men who live in our regions, who live in our country and who may feel excluded. They are indeed the recipients of public action, the beneficiaries of public services and the custodians of the general interest. Our decisions, our actions only have meaning because they are reflected in their daily lives, in their lives. For the youth too, who, I hope, will replace us. And they have dreams in their pockets. A country, a region, is not just a project on paper, it is also a desire to be implemented. Thank you. »…/