Mayor Robert Ménard: Leading the New French Resistance

Baron Bodisey 

The European Commission, working in tandem with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is attempting to impose mandatory migrant quotas on the member states of the EU. The idea is to take the masses of migrants from where they land (mostly in Italy and Greece) and from their preferred destinations (Sweden and Germany, inter alia) and resettle them in places where they don’t want to go, such as Slovakia, Hungary, and Spain.

France is attempting a similar operation, but on the national level. The central government in Paris wants to take the migrants from where they principally congregate — the “Jungle” shantytown near Calais, and the parks and streets of Paris — and redistribute them among local municipalities all over the country. In true totalitarian EU fashion, the mayors of the various villes have no say in the matter.
But one mayor has become a prominent resister. Robert Ménard is the mayor of Béziers, a town in the south of France. Mr. Ménard —whose party is the Front National — has caused a predictable media uproar by putting up posters warning citizens of the town that the migrants are coming. He also plans to hold a referendum asking his constituents if they want to absorb any of the resettled migrants.
The media firestorm has become so intense that the story has even made it into The Daily Mail.
The following video shows a segment of a progressive talk show (is there any other kind?) from French television. The panelists are busy uttering the politically correct bromides that one expects from the bien pensants, but then Robert Ménard picks up the phone and calls in…
Many thanks to Ava Lon for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Transcript:

00:00		Banners that were put all over the town by Robert Ménard
00:04		with bearded men, and the fear: look that’s it! They are coming, the migrants!
00:08		To our downtown. Yes, Robert Ménard wants to communicate, we get that,
00:12		by this poster to his constituents, about the migrants that “the state is forcing on us”.
00:16		That’s what the mayor of Béziers is saying, so he’s launching this new shock campaign of posters
00:20		targeting the migrants: “There we are! They are coming! The migrants in our downtown,”
00:24		with a picture that is supposed to feel oppressive.
00:28		Of 200 spots for the refugees, only 80 are administered by the municipality,
00:32		or of 50 spots managed by CIMAD, and this last one that has to be enlarged,
00:36		and that’s what is displeasing to Robert Ménard. He wants to go even further;
00:40		he wants to organize a referendum on the refugees in Béziers, there’s even a date already,
00:44		January 8th, 2017, the initiative has to be submitted to the Town Council on October 18th.
00:48		So the poster shocks you, and the referendum
00:52		shocks you? Ménard shocks you? Tell us, big mouths!
00:56		It’s more than shocking.
01:00		There were some actions of Robert Ménard that seemed, well perhaps more legitimate
01:04		concerning the town, I obviously don’t know the town management in its entirety,
01:08		But, honestly, this type of poster and this type of speech, it’s more than pathetic,
01:12		it’s below the zero level of politics, because somewhere, I already said it a hundred times
01:16		on this set, what is Robert Ménard going to do with those refugees? They are sending 130
01:20		refugees to his county. I don’t know the number of inhabitants in Béziers, but it has to,
01:24		I mean 130, it’s like a tiny drop compared to the whole population, what will he do with them?
01:28		We have no choice; those people are here. We won’t kill them or drown them, or do anything
01:32		to them. We have them here; we have no other answer. —Well, Robert Ménard is going to explain
01:36		that in his town there are already other problems to solve,
01:40		that he has a large foreign population by the way, and that the refugees
01:45		are an additional problem which he cannot solve in a town that is poor, and that
01:48		creates difficulties. —All the towns will say the same thing. They don’t have the same situation,
01:52		not all of them. —But I think, what I don’t understand is the risk
01:57		that he is taking. We can all see: that is a truly demagogic poster,
02:01		but I don’t understand the risk he is taking, because
02:05		the goal of a mayor is that everything will go well in his town.
02:09		There he is causing something very close to hate
02:13		on the side of the hosts, and a slight paranoia on the side of the guests.
02:17		That’s it! They are coming! —Yes, and this side, I don’t know
02:21		what it can cause in the future, but it’s a risk…
02:25		Someone could take a gun out, right? —Of course there is incitement
02:29		to hate on one side and paranoia on the other. —Incitement to hatred? —Of course
02:33		It means, so it represents… —It’s so staged.
02:37		So it really represents a danger. If, I think if Robert Ménard
02:41		really wanted to do something, he could distribute fliers in mailboxes
02:45		saying: I disagree with the arrival of the migrants… — But he wants a referendum!
02:49		Yes, but with the poster we aren’t talking about the referendum
02:53		…concerning the migrants I’m going to ask you to form an opinion,
02:57		to do it in a way a little more discreet, and so it wouldn’t be so visible, there we can see
03:01		that there’s something totally different going on —So rather than have meetings
03:05		of information, they make a poster, that incites to hate. —Voilà!
03:09		…used to the way of dealing with it like Robert Ménard —Fatima…
03:13		Madame the French teacher. —Anyway he knows how to create polemics,
03:17		our friend Ménard! He’s good at that. He knows how to create polemics, he is an advertiser
03:21		who doesn’t even realize it. Because when I saw the poster, I thought it was a parody.
03:25		You know, like : “He came back! He’s there!”
03:29		You know that? — Of course! The Invaders! — It’s scary.
03:34		So the Invaders arrive! So I thought that it was a parody. — Exactly.
03:38		But it’s a real poster…
03:42		I don’t think you could sue, because with a good lawyer
03:46		because everything is only implied, he could say, I am only talking about the facts.
03:50		The state in forcing them on us — Voilà, they arrive — we can see that.
03:54		So finally the charge is in the suspense,
03:58		in the implicit, the power of the suspension points, so I don’t know, if for example,
04:02		if some associations will sue them — Yes, SOS Racism! —Well it’ll…
04:06		If he has a good lawyer, he’ll pull through, because everything, everything is implied.
04:10		No, but I think he’s happy that SOS Racism is suing. —Of course! —Otherwise he’d be disappointed.
04:14		A delegation of inter-ministries fighting the racism and anti-Semitism also filed a complaint
04:18		with the prosecutor. — I think that everybody has been fooled. —Mayor, good morning, sir!
04:22		Good morning, Robert Ménard! —Good morning, everybody. —You’re playing with fear, Robert Ménard?
04:26		I’m playing with the reality, sorry for telling you that this is the case. In my town,
04:30		I’ve been saying for a while now, I have enough problems with taking care of people
04:34		who live in this town: the previous or new inhabitants.
04:38		I am trying to take care of them.
04:42		We are the fourth poorest town in France, and you think I can, on top of all,
04:46		handle the arrival of additional people? —But what is the purpose of this poster?
04:49		Its point is informing the people form my town. —But no, you
04:52		could do something else to inform them. —I tell you,
04:55		I chose how to inform them, and they’re clearly OK with it! Of course that’s the point:
04:58		to inform. —So your advice in communications you can apply where you want. — In the pocket!
05:02		I communicate the way I want; and yes! That’s the way it is. And the inhabitants are happy.
05:05		And the inhabitants — I was in the streets
05:08		of Béziers yesterday — and in Béziers they applauded, and they said, finally!
05:11		—All right, but it doesn’t solve anything —Wait, let me finish, you’re asking how to communicate;
05:15		I am answering you. Voilà, a mayor who says things. —What am I saying? I am answering you;
05:19		I’m saying that in this town, where already two thirds of children
05:23		in public schools are originally from a migration background, and nobody gives a f**k,
05:27		because there could be even more of them. And nobody takes care of them,
05:31		and I am trying to take care of them. I have no means to welcome even more people
05:35		So I’m going to give you numbers, because between the fantasy and the reality, you should
05:39		come back to the reality. And the reality is that we already have two centers for the refugees,
05:43		for the asylum seekers. One of them, I am heading it, as a welcoming manager.
05:47		As the mayor. I am going to give you numbers: in the last three years we had
05:51		403 asylum seekers; 350
05:55		haven’t obtained the famous status. What does the law say? The law
05:59		says that the police pick them up and bring them to the border,
06:03		because they aren’t supposed to stay in France. How many, in your opinion, have been brought
06:07		to the border from Béziers? Zero! Zero! What happens to them?
06:11		Those people… —They stay where they are… — wait — who are false refugees
06:15		and true migrants. Because when you ask, because if you are Albanian,
06:19		you know very well, you won’t get the status of a political refugee.
06:23		What becomes of them? They add to the illegals in my town.
06:27		And since Mr Valls [French prime minister] signed off on a policy
06:31		that guarantees that their problems will be solved in five years, they are waiting
06:35		for those five years in my town! So I don’t need the morality lessons!
06:39		I don’t mind the morality lessons, but this is reality. Further, concerning people who preach:
06:42		my dear colleagues [he is a journalist by trade], dear professionals of indignation,
06:47		dear politicians: why don’t you welcome them in your places?
06:56		Listen, I am going to give you numbers… —Well there are many mayors who are welcoming the…
07:00		No, no, no, but about the morality in my town, you know in the three last years,
07:04		I had 493 requests to make exceptions in the choice of schools [no choosing public school
07:07		in France; people don’t want to put their children in the schools with all too many foreigners].
07:10		One day I’ll publish the list of people who request school exceptions for their own children
07:15		because they love immigrants very much… —Of course…
07:18		because they love Muslims very much; OK. They love the gypsies, but not for their kids!
07:21		Yes, but Robert Ménard, you are the mayor of Béziers… —Yes, I am mayor of Béziers.
07:25		You want to solve your town’s problems.
07:28		So the question is whether the poster helps solve your town’s problems —I’m trying to solve them.
07:32		…or if it is making the problems worse, and secondly, that referendum that you want to organize
07:36		with the question: “Do you approve of the arrival of new migrants
07:40		imposed by the state without consulting the town council?” OK. The answer is a little bit
07:44		in your question already. What is it bringing in fact? I imagine you must be applauded
07:48		by those who voted you in, but is this solving the problem? — Wait, two things.
07:52		You know where they want to put them, those new migrants?
07:56		In the heart of the Old Town! That’s why we put the cathedral on the poster, not because
08:00		I am Catholic, but because people don’t know where Béziers is and it’s
08:04		at the foot of — in a way — of the cathedral. This is the reality!
08:08		It is a slap in the face of the policies I have been pursuing for two years
08:12		to revitalize this town. The referendum! —You have a strategy but…
08:16		you are still the forth poorest town in France, despite this big. — Yes…
08:20		… this big work of… —Sorry, come to Béziers instead of talking…
08:24		—I am coming to Béziers… —So come and see me in Béziers, and you’ll see
08:28		if there are more shops downtown, if the town isn’t cleaner, and safer.
08:33		Ask the inhabitants. They don’t give a f**k about your opinion; they have opportunities to vote.
08:37		Look at how they vote, and then we can talk about it again.
08:41		This is still what democracy is about! Then, wait, you’re asking
08:45		about the referendum: do you know that neither the prefect
08:49		nor the vice-prefect took the time to tell me about it?
08:53		I found out by accident, in a meeting.
08:57		About that, good morning sir, on this topic I am completely
09:01		in agreement with you. I mean,
09:05		the fact of imposing things, of not asking
09:09		the opinion of the inhabitants of, I find that
09:13		it was done in a scandalous manner anyway, so we can
09:17		join you and, but this isn’t the question. The question,
09:21		I think, is the choice of poster. But, you can…
09:25		you can also say that you wanted also to be provocative. — Madame…I’m sorry.
09:29		It’s a poster, Madame. —Then we can talk about it.
09:33		On the RNC show at 11 am they try to get people’s attention,
09:37		that’s what they say, and I did the same thing! It’s a technique used by advertisers…
09:41		You could also put them in the mailboxes… —But we ARE putting them in the mailboxes.
09:45		Let me reassure you right away: the mailboxes and the newspaper —Ah, yes, perhaps
09:49		it was already enough, because… because don’t you think that it is an incitement to hate?
09:53		…on one hand, and to paranoia on the part of the guests? — I’m sorry, sir, but, no.
09:57		No sir, you’re living on a different planet. —No, I’m not living on a different planet at all…
10:01		Sorry, but this is just reality. But the reality is tough!
10:05		The reality is severe, complicated;
10:09		the reality is aggressive… —OK … —but the French people… why do you think
10:14		they are voting the way they are voting? Because they notice, so perhaps,
10:18		perhaps, the world of the politicians and the media, they’re living on a different planet.
10:22		I speak to the inhabitants of my town, who understand me 100%… — All right.
10:26		…that poster, and who support it completely. — Robert Ménard, whatever
10:30		the results of the referendum, if the state, the prefect decide
10:34		that those migrants WILL come to your town, what are you going to do?
10:38		Sorry to tell you that the prefect and the vice-prefect are not eternal; there are elections.
10:42		When I hear all those people in the primaries on the right, for example,
10:46		launching into outbidding the referendum… — Yes it’s true… —talking about democracy.
10:50		You know, I do hope that when we’re able to
10:54		ask the inhabitants of Béziers their point of view,
10:58		many people will think: maybe it’s time to stop forcing mayors
11:02		what that lady I was talking to, seconds ago, on the phone, was saying,
11:06		sorry, I am not … —Fatima, the French teacher.
11:10		—I’m sorry, Madame; I didn’t know your name because I wasn’t listening before coming on the air,
11:14		before using my phone. — OK, but the referendum as such has no legal weight, no legal value.
11:18		It has — wait — no legal value, but it will anyway tell what people think. —It is a consultation.
11:22		We already know the answer —The legality, what the inhabitants think
11:26		what I find important is the reality of the feelings of the inhabitants — Fine!
11:30		They are just NOT negligible —All right, fine, but what are you going to do if the families
11:34		and the migrants arrive? Are you going to prevent them from coming “manu militari”? [by force]
11:37		How will that go? Wait, I’m not planning a coup, it’s a democracy. —I didn’t say that,
11:40		I was only asking how it would go, Robert Ménard.
11:43		—I only say this in the face of the denial of democracy, a denial of democracy.
11:46		Because not informing a mayor of the town about things this important. —Agree.
11:50		The mayor is defending himself, and he isn’t defending all by himself,
11:55		he is defending himself together with the huge majority of the population that agrees with him.
11:59		—I understand, but what would you do, what would you do? Concretely, if those migrants arrive
12:03		and are forced on the town. —I’ll do all I can, legally, to prevent them from settling down
12:07		in the heart of the Old Town. And I am reminding you that a Mayor has a ton of power.
12:11		You know what is so surprising for you in my attitude? That I have, I am
12:15		a mayor like the others, and not exactly like the others: like the others, because
12:19		I don’t have more power than they do, but I am taking it to the limits of my power.
12:23		I use ALL my power — You are playing a dangerous game. There actually… I think, that with this
12:27		poster you are playing a dangerous game. I think you can send the same message
12:31		that you could hear, perhaps it is close to the thinking of the Front National,
12:35		but I think that the very same message could have been sent differently
12:39		than with that poster, that is stirring the pot. — Thank you,
12:43		thank you for that advice! It’s been three years that we have been crafting opposing policies
12:47		and it is working very well. You know, when you made a poster
12:51		that questioned the owner of Galleries Lafayette [department store], they said
12:55		on TV, it wasn’t you but it was the same type, who told me
12:59		“What? Madame Moulin, you show her that way?!”
13:03		Ginette Moulin, two days later she decided to change her mind about Galeries Lafayette
13:07		they have been remodeled in Béziers inside and outside.
13:11		I was told the same thing about guns: the best friend,
13:15		you remember? The best friend of the police is a gun.
13:19		How dare you say that? How? How? After the attacks, everybody said:
13:23		Oh, actually, the mayor wasn’t completely wrong! — Everybody wants to arm the town police
13:27		Do you want another case? —Thank you! —I wanted a municipal guard, and they tell me: oh, no,
13:31		no municipal guard! Now it is the national guard. What does it mean? It means
13:35		we are a little ahead of the others. —Thank you Robert Ménard, mayor of Béziers.
13:39		Thank you for being in direct contact with us.