French Opposition Head Copé to EuroFora: People eager for Local+ EU Votes but CoE must check Attacks

*Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- Most French People feel "fustrated" and want to send a "Message", starting with the Municipal Elections of March and April 2014, as "a 1st Step", and evolving further with the European Parliament's Elections, later on May 2014,  as a stronger Lever of Change against the persisting Economic inefficiency of the current "Socialist" Government's controversial policies, which have just been strongly criticized by EU Commission Today, announcing its decision to put the Country under intensified "Monitoring", the Head of France's Main Opposition Party "UMP", Jean-François Copé, basically agreed with "EuroFora", while, at the same time, he Warned against Risks to "Divert" Citizens' attention far away from the main topical Issuess which affect People's lives.

 Significantly, Copé, accompagnied by a big number of Journalists (including some very Experienced and Keen Reporters well known personaly to "EuroFora" for having covered the Presidential Palace "Elysée" for many Years in the recent Past),  had just adressed an exceptional and large Public Meeting to support Strasbourg's Candidate Mayor, Senator Fabienne Keller, and was Heading, as he told "EuroFora", "towards Dublin", in Ireland, where the biggest European Party, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, is holding a Crucial Congress and Heads of State/Government Summit, Tomorrow and the Day After, 6 and 7 March 2014, in order to adopt officially its "Manifesto" for the forthcoming, May 2014 EU Elections, and, mainly, to choose, for the 1st Time in History, his EU-wide Leader for that Vote, (whose Winner is due to become the New EU Commission's President for the period of 2014-2019, according to EU Lisbon Treaty and relevant Inter-Institutional arrangements between MEPs and States), among 3 Candidates : Two former Prime Miisters of Luxembourg and Latvia, Juncker and Dobrovskis, a long-time f. President of €uroGroup, and the man who succeede to bring the 1st Baltic State inside €uroZone after a  remarkable Recovery from a prevous Economic Krach, respectively, as well as EU Commissioner for the Common Market and several times Minister (of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Environment, etc), Barnier of France.

But, expressing a clear Will to try to get back the so-called "European Capital" of Strasbourg's City, (Host of the CoE and ECHR, EU Parliament's plenaries and EU Ombudsman, EUROCORPS and Shenghen, etc), from the Out-going "Socialist" Mayor Ries, a 67 years old Senator (who had Vainly Promissed in the Past Not to seek a 2nd Mandate, but later changed his mind, appointed a Turkish Director for his Electoral Campaign, and vowed in Public  to built a Mosque in every District of the City, supported by Subsidies traditionaly reserved to the over-Millenary Christian Religion of the large Majority of Alsace Region's Population), ChristianDemocrat/EPP Senator Fabienne Keller (UMP), was exceptionaly flanked, Today, not only by the Head of her UMP Party, Copé, but also by 2 former Prime Ministers : Jean-Pierre Raffarin, from the era of Historic former President Jacques Chirac, and François Fillon, from the more recent era of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, who attracted Thousands of People.

 

The move practically coincided with the anouncement by EU Commissioner for Financial and Monetary affairs, Oli Rehn in Brussels, that EU has just decided to put France, and some other EU Member Countries, under an "Enhanced Monitoring" procedure, because the current, Socialist Paris' Government had reportedly failed to redress the situation about a growing State's Debt, and revealed some Worrying Current Accounts, while Growth remained still at the Waiting list, in addition to a hard moment also on Unemployment, etc., among a set of various Economic and social benchmarks, most of which remained still at the Red.

 + Added to unacceptable State "Interferences" in the Private Life of Families, (f.ex. by the recent controversial and unpopular Bill on Same Sex Mariage and even Adoption of Children by Homosexuals without any relation to their Natural Family, as well as alleged attempts to impose the so-called "Gender" Theory inside Schools for pupils too young for that, etc), the whole picture was going Grim, together with a persisting Failure to "Integrate" new Immigrants, contrary to what France had succeeded to do in the Past, when Foreigners were Glad to learn the Host Country's Language, History and Culture, while EU's External Borders remained too "Floue", Copé added to the list of complaints, applauded.

This was extended further to a "Failure" on Law and Order keeping, particularly visible at a Local level, where also a controversial Socialists' deal with "Greens" was blamed for having practically condemned an important European Transport Infrastructure project, such as the "Rhine-Rhone" High Speed Train link, (which would have united the Mediterranean area with Mittel Europa, Italy with Germany), as Fillon also denounced earlier, together with a Dangerous Mess around Ukraine, where the EU should have played a better role of Mediation vis a vis Russia, earlier, according to Sarkozy's former Prime Minister, (etc).

In fact, the current situation is such in France, that the Socialist Party, afraid to loose the forthcoming Local and EU Elections, "is Ready to do Anything" in order to disrupt a normal and free Democratic Debate on the main issues, warned the Secretary General of UMP. This is a Dangerous context, which explains why, suddenly, so many Personal Attacks started to be launched against the Leaders of the Opposition; by abusing of any method, even of the most Scandalous, he denounced.  => "No Deviation far away from main Issues" which affect People's Lives !, warned Copé.

    - An obvious reference to a series of an impressive series of various recent incidents targetting Top Politicians of the Opposition in France, such as f.ex. a controversial Judicial Search at the office of the Lawyer of former President Sarkozy, Me Herzog, (including even a seizure of the Lawyer's Mobile Phone, reportedly Unprecedented in the History of violations of Defence's Rights and of Professional Secret) ; revelations that, a year after the Socialist Party got the Government, Tapping and systematic, constant Surveilance had been imposed against Sarkozy and his closest former collaborators at the Presidential Elysee Palace, including former Ministers ; as well as the spread of other rumours to discredit the main Opposition Party's current Secretary General, Copé himself;  several Leakages at the Press of the content of Tapes and other Notes taken by a former Presidential Counsellor on various meetings and conversations which had been held in the f. President's Office at Elysée, etc.  Meawhile, Lawyers denounce "the Abuses committed by some Judges", (particularly after recent Scandals seriously Questioned many French Judges' political Independence and Objectivity)...

    => So that, in reply to "EuroFora"s Question whether COE's Assembly should urgently check the way that the Opposition and, in general, any politically Dissident voices, risk to be currently treated by those currently in power in France, f.ex. on the occasion of a forthcoming Visit of CoE Assembly's "Monitoring" Committee, the main Opposition Party, UMP's Secretary General, after giving to the matter a careful thought, and after reiterating that we must all avoid any  Deviation away from the Issues which affect People's Lives, finaly, he replied Positively, noding ostensibly, and with a crystal-clear  - "Yes !".

 + Indeed, CoE Assembly's Committee on Monitoring Member States' Commitments on Democracy, Human Rights and Rule of Law, has already decided to start examining a Motion tabled by various MEPs from several CoE Member Countries and differend Political Groups about "Serious Setbacks in the Fields of Human Rights and Rule of Law in France", (according to its Officialy adopted Heading by the CoE), which had been initially triggered mainly after the 2013 Police violences against Citizens (even many Peaceful Young Girls and Boys) massively participating in Giant Demonstrations in Paris and elsewhere to protest for a controversial and unpopular Bill imposing Homosexuals' Mariage and even Adoption of Children by Homosexuals without any relation to their Natural Family, and threatening recalcitrant Mayors with Heavy Fines and/or Prison sentences if they don't accept to celebrate Personaly such events in Public, withouit any consideration to their Freedom of Conscience, nor to the commitments vis a vis the Majority of EU Citizens who elected them democratically, (a particular issue which has just started, recently, to arrive even at the ECHR, after a 1st, preliminary Complaint lodged last Month in Strasbourg by a Group of Dissident Mayors).

    However, as competent COE's sources said earlier to "EuroFora", this Monitoring Mission could also examine the way that the Opposition's Political Parties, as well as any individual Dissidents (f.ex. MPs, other Politicians, Officials, Experts, Journalists, Businessmen, Artists, etc) are currently Treated in France by the new, Socialist Authorities, particularly after various recent Incidents, (such as, f.ex. an unprecedented Refusal to Reimburse the Electoral Expenses of the main Opposition "UMP" Party for the 2012 Presidential Election, a Harassment denounced by several Dissidents, from the Famous Film-Actor Gerard Depardieu - led to become Russian Citizen, as well as to Migrate to Belgium !  - up to certain Journalists, MPs, and particularly the former President Sarkozy, allegedly targetted by an ever growing series of various accusations, and  placed on Surveillance shortly after the installation of the current, Socialist Government, including even his Lawyer, Me Herzog, who has just faced a Search in his Office and a Confiscation of his Professional Mobiile Phone, starting these Days a growing circle of Collective protests by Lawyers against Threats to seriously Violate the Rights of the Defence, etc). Indeed, this obviously concerns also the way that Democratic Institutions function in real Practice, and the degree of Fairness, Objectivity and Independence of Courts' proceedings, according to the Principles of Rule of Law, protective of basic Human Rights, i.e. CoE's main Tasks, since the 2005 PanEuropean Warsaw Summit of Heads of State/Government, which are at the Core of every CoE Assembly's "Monitorng" operation, including this one..

    As PACE's Co-Rapporteurs for France were appointed, since last December 2013, two important MEPs : Stefan Schennach, a Socialist from Austria who Chairs himself the Monitopring Committee, and Valeriu Ghiletchi, a ChristianDemocrat/EPP from Moldova, President of CoE Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, while a 1st "Fact-Finding Visit" has reportedly just been authorized at a February 27-28 meeting of the Committee in Malta, and is currently expected to take place during the following weeks, and, at any case, before a forthcoming Meeting of the Monitoring Committee in Paris, later on May. The terms of Reference for this unprecedented Report on France are wide enough, since the Rapporteurs have been given Time until September 2015, (a Deadline which could, if necessary, be even prolonged).

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    But, in the meantime, more Optimist, Chirac's former Prime Minister, Senator Raffarin, speaking to "EuroFora" on his well-known interest for China - EU relations, (where he had recently co-chaired some Important Economic Conferences with Top Chinese and European Businesses' Managers, included at the Elysée Presidential Palace in Paris during Sarkozy's term), promissed that, "if Fabienne (Keller) wins the (Local) Election, I will help her to develop Strasbourg's relations with Beijing, Shanghai and/or Hong Kong, as he said, smiling, (but apparently really meaning it !)...