Jean-Pierre Raffarin

“I think that we must come together progressively, with the British, the Germans, the Spanish, the Italians and with the new members of the European Union, we must make an effort to forge closer links.”

“What's very important is that we build a space that matters in the world, one that operates according to democratic rules, and that small and large countries enjoy a good relationship.”

“We shall say clearly that any symbol conspicuously displaying religious affiliation in school is prohibited.”

“When I see the cultural diversity that exists today, I feel that we must defend it, and we need Europe, because otherwise we are going to live in a society with a single model, the Anglo-American model.”

“I think that the proposed constitution is one of the European legal documents with the strongest social dimension I have seen since I began following European issues.”

“We have come a long way in terms of foreign policy.”

“We would like UN resolutions to be enforced, including on Iraq.”

“But the Republic has its rules and it must not tolerate any abuse of them.”

“It's important to show that, while authorizing the demonstrations and promoting diversity of opinion, the Republic can't allow itself to be undermined from within.”