Laurent Fabius Quotes (29 Quotes)

This is very good news for the Socialists. I think it is important that the Socialist Party closed ranks on a leftist ticket.

with confidence, but not complacency.

We on the left who are pro-European and Internationalist wish to unite the peoples under a social model.

France on its own cannot impose its point of view. But neither should it give up on its demands. With a clear vote for change France will be in a strong position.

I am a partisan and artisan of Europe. But I draw the lessons of my experience in government.

For a long time many believed that there would be an automatic adjustment and counted on a rapid increase in the wages of the emerging nations, on our advances in technology and the costs of transport preventing disruption. But this reassuring analysis is out of date.

The single currency should allow the European Union, and therefore France, to balance its monetary strength with the United States. It should help us adjust to the development of China.

We need to act at the same time on prevention, repression, education, housing, jobs ... and not play the cowboy.

derail economic expectations of economic agents, and put public budgets in danger of new imbalances.

I want to make an extremely strong appeal to those who abstained. Vote. It takes five minutes and then it's for five years.

This assumes an upward revision of the European Budget, which is precisely what Jacques Chirac refuses to do. On the contrary, he has demanded a reduction.

One of the reasons for this decision is that the share price is crawling along and that in new privately managed logic the way to lift shares is to cut jobs.

At the same time the Constitution sets in stone the Stability Pact and risks preventing member States from implementing a policy of growth. So we are not able to do things at the European or the national level.

The Commission's proposal was adopted by all countries except Ireland, ... It is true it is the first time that such a step has been taken and it is obviously important.

There are 20 million unemployed and what does the Constitution offer us in the Europe of 25, 27 and soon to be 30: policies of unrestricted competition to the detriment of production, wages, research and innovation.

But Maastricht was not the end of history. It was a first step towards a Europe of growth, of employment, a social Europe. That was the vision of Francois Mitterrand. We are far from that now.

The demographic weight of countries such as China and India exercise a massive pressure on our wages and salaries. They have accomplished massive technological advances and the revolution in information technology has reduced the costs of transport.

There is a social crisis which risks getting worse.

I have always conceived of the construction of Europe as a movement which permits slowly and surely an upwards social and economic harmonisation.

if the US economic landing is soft there will be no consequences (for Europe).

I really urge the government to withdraw this bad project before there is a serious accident.

If we wish to develop scientific research, a transport policy, public services, it is necessary to have the financial means to do so.

I hope that this trial will serve truth and justice, ... I hope this necessary trial will allow us to establish that from what we knew, we acted in good conscience.

I do think there is a need for coordination of economic policy, but this doesn't mean that everybody has to do the same thing, and there has to be a recognition that if the individual houses are not in order, the end product cannot be a good one.

But with this last enlargement Europe has changed its nature. The new countries are diverse. The old methods will no longer work.

Shopkeepers are not bankers.

Very often we use the word historical but it's not historical. This time it is, because I think this is the first time 12 nations, 12 large nations, decide to join their currency, their sovereignty, and to have the same currency. And it's not only a question of a new currency, it's a new stage in the building up of the European Union.

The U.S. withdrawal from the Kyoto protocol endangers the entire process.

This revision of the Constitution will not be perfect. But at least the Constitution will not be inflexible. It will be a step towards the Social Europe which we wish.