European sovereignty? Alexandre del Valle VS Philippe Val

For our special report on communities, particularly national ones, French essayists Alexandre del Valle, geopolitologist, and Philippe Val, editorialist, cross swords on the idea of European sovereignty as promoted by Emmanuel Macron.

Alexandre del Valle: It is a political reality that transcends the left-right divide by placing the national interest and the nation’s independence at the center. Without rejecting either the rule of law or international treaties, sovereignists want states to always retain the power to withdraw from these treaties when they deem them contrary to their interests.

Philippe Val: Paradoxically, sovereignty is an ideology that distances us from civilization. When I was a child, I wasn’t very politically aware, but I already felt European. Because