If there is a topic that few people talk about, it is this one, which is generally linked to the implementation of an ultra-liberal system, as is the case with the European Union, for example, or Canada, not to be confused with American liberalism, which only finds its excesses in the far right. If you go to Europe and decide to rent a car and travel through, for example, France, the first thing to beware of is the millions of speed cameras everywhere, which are a form of disguised taxes entrusted to private companies. Whether in cities, on country roads, in the mountains, or by the seaside, no one can escape them. And as if that weren’t enough, you will also encounter vehicles equipped with radar systems watching for the slightest mistake, making it impossible to evade. If you take the highway, it’s the same, with toll prices that are utterly outrageous. Protests are also handled in an extremely violent manner by the state, as it is not good to protest, and ideas different from those imposed by the state are denounced as extremists.

The press, for the most part, is not free, as it depends on financial groups friendly to those in power. For many years, there has been a form of self-censorship among journalists, and for those who remain in place, they must adopt and defend all the principles of this hyper-liberalism, claiming every day that there is no other solution and constantly discussing security, just like the government in power, all with a backdrop of social unrest. Racism is also a component of the discourse of this form of liberalism, for whom the problem is always “the other,” while claiming the opposite every other week. All of this is perfectly verifiable, either through your own eyes or through independent foreign press not affiliated with Europe. Keeping the population under pressure also forces them to accept their condition, and with rampant inflation, it is becoming less and less tolerable for the population to endure both state violence in all areas and fiscal violence, with taxes everywhere and a VAT of over 20%, with no medium-term prospects.

Privatization in Europe, unlike in the USA where it has a beneficial impact, is quite the opposite in Europe. The inflationary economy that suits many in European finance benefits the wealthiest companies, while small businesses, restaurants, and hotels are closing one after the other due to insufficient profitability to withstand such fiscal pressure. From the right of the socialist party to the National Front, which is the French far right, the motivation is the same; the speeches change, but not the substance. These are some of the reasons why society is tense and fear is no longer enough to silence it. If tomorrow, society wants to evolve, it will first need to regain its fundamental rights and exit the economic European Union, as everything I describe here is imposed by the EU, with states merely ratifying European regulations in all areas. The consequences are numerous. For example, in Germany, but this is true in all European countries, once academics are trained, they leave the country. Those already established in Germany do the same, and it is the same in France and elsewhere. While Europe is losing its intellectual capital, it is filling up with poorly regulated immigration. We have never seen so many Europeans seeking to settle in the USA or Canada – researchers, engineers, journalists, and even artists…

In the USA, the ideas advocated by the most extreme Republicans, who have been plaguing the party for far too long, are also the ones that need to be fought against, as they are bringing society back to the prehistoric era, with denial of history, racism, banned books, banned abortion, and the list goes on. While the issue is very different from Europe, as press freedom and freedom of speech are sacred, the focus should be on the essentials – what kind of life choices does American society want? This may seem trivial, but when coming from Europe, it takes on great significance, because although both cases involve fighting for freedoms, the consequences are not the same. It will now take decades in Europe to achieve even a semblance of democracy, whereas in the United States, even if Trump or someone of a similar kind were elected, their actions could be blocked and they could be removed in four years, or even less in the case of legal or institutional problems. Ecology was the battle of the late 20th century, and even though much remains to be done in that field, Western societies seem to be seeking long-term solutions. The battle to regain or preserve our freedoms begins…

Thierry De Clemensat

Editor-in-Chief

Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News