Jacques Attali: 'Support for national sovereignty is nothing but the new name of anti-Semitism'

Wikidictionary: sovereignism (uncountable)

1. A doctrine which supports acquiring or preserving political independence of a nation or a region. It opposes federalism and approaches independentism movements.
2. The defence of the sovereignty of individual European countries in the face of broader European or European Union integration.

Tweet by Jacques Attali✔@jattali 9:00 AM - Oct 4, 2019
“Sovereignism is nothing but the new name of anti-Semitism. Jews and Muslims, who are both threatened by it, must unite against the fantasies of the great replacement.”

His tweet links to an article he has written in which he says:

'There is no invasion of France by Islam or Africa. Non-European migrants do
not represent, on a net annual basis, 450,000 people, as the extremes claim, but less than 185,000 people (and again, taking into account naturalizations, which represent half of them), less than one half percent of the French population.

(Almost 185,00 people a year seems to me a lot.)

'...Nor should it be forgotten that what is often hiding behind "sovereignism" is, in fact, sometimes the same xenophobia, the same closure, the same lack of self-confidence as anti-Italian anti-Polish, anti-Armenian and anti-Semitic ideologies of past centuries.
'Antisemitism refers to both hostility to Jews and Muslims. Not every sovereignist is an anti-Semite and not every anti-Semite is a sovereignist, but they often are so today.'

He is aghast that some well-known French Jews, such as the philosopher Alain Finkielkraut have criticised Muslims, when

'Algerian Muslims have played in supporting and protecting their parents, in the horrific times of anti-Semitism triumphing in metropolis and even more in Algeria, under Vichy , under Giraud, and even under de Gaulle.'

They did?

'France is great only when it is open, welcoming, sure of itself. When it is built, century after century in confidence, in the brewing and the integration of new ideas and families, enriched the national community. When it makes it possible to give globalization the dimension it lacks so much, that of democracy, social justice, and the defense of freedoms, against all dictatorships, against all fundamentalisms and all violence. For the best of humanity.'

His outlook is certainly a long way from that of De Gaulle who said,

'It is very good that there are yellow French, black French, brown French. They show that France is open to all races and has a universal vocation. But [it is good] on condition that they remain a small minority. Otherwise, France would no longer be France. We are still primarily a European people of the white race, Greek and Latin culture, and the Christian religion.'

For people who do not quite remember who Jacques Attali is, or confuse him with Jacques Delors, he was a close aide to President Mitterand in the 1980s and founded and was the first President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). 

He is a supporter of President Macron and has said, “I presented him to Hollande so that he would call him to work at the Élysée Palace.”

There is no invasion of France by Islam or Africa. Non-European migrants do not represent, on a net annual basis, 450,000 people, as the extremes claim, but less than 185,000 people (and again, taking into account naturalizations, which represent half of them), less than one half percent of the French population.Twitter Ads info and privacy