French PM Attal hails new era for National Assembly

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00:00My fellow countrymen, tonight, on this second round of the general elections,

00:09you spoke democratically in a large turnout. And once again, I should like to thank all the

00:18local officials who made it possible for this vote to run smoothly. I should like to congratulate

00:27the 577 members of Parliament who have just been elected. Each of them owns part of a national

00:34sovereignty, which is our dearest property. All these members of Parliament represent

00:42the country. Ladies and gentlemen, I did not decide on the disbandment of Parliament,

00:54but I decided to fight this campaign. My commitment was a duty from the beginning of

01:01the campaign. I alerted on three risks, the risk of the absolute majority from the

01:10insubmissive France, an absolute majority of the far right of the National Rally,

01:16a France disconnected from its values and its beliefs. These three risks have been brushed

01:23aside by the French. Tonight, no absolute majority can be driven by the extremes,

01:31and this is because of the French spirit, so committed to the Republic and its values.

01:41Our political discourse, that of the Republic and progress, that of authority and work,

01:48that of ecological transition and the European construction, this discourse is very much alive

01:55thanks to our determination, the strength of our values. We were able to hold on,

02:00and we are still standing with three times as many members of Parliament as was initially

02:08believed by the First Estimates. My thoughts go out to the candidates of the presidential party,

02:16especially those who lost the election, those who stepped down between the two rounds. I would like

02:21to tell them all my thanks, my absolute loyalty. Ladies and gentlemen, becoming the Prime Minister

02:33was the honour of my life. Everywhere I went, I went out to meet you, to listen to you.

02:40Everything you told me made me think about the country, and the bond between us

02:46is the closest thing I have, is the dearest thing I have. My political party, even though

02:54its performance was three times better than initially expected, is still not a majority,

03:00and so, therefore, in line with Republican tradition and in keeping with my principles,

03:05tomorrow morning, I shall resign from my post. I know that in the light of tonight's results,

03:15many of my countrymen are concerned about the future because there is no absolute majority

03:19in Parliament. Our country is facing an unprecedented political situation. It has

03:26to face the world in a matter of weeks. Of course, I will abide by my role as long as necessary. This

03:38is my responsibility for the country. I have a sense of duty, respect for the people. This is

03:45the role of the Prime Minister. Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, a new era is unfolding,

03:51a new era for the nation. As of tomorrow, the centre of gravity, because and by the will of

03:59the people, will be in the hands of Parliament, the representatives of the nation, and therefore

04:05in the hands of our citizens. We have a huge responsibility. I will not accept that the

04:16political order should be divided between three blocks, each side trying to overcome the two

04:23others. This is not France. This is not the French people. This I shall never accept,

04:29especially tonight, as the far right is achieving a historical performance. When many French voted

04:39for the extremes, I shall tell every one of you, I respect all of you, regardless of your choices,

04:45because there are no different categories of French, those who are right and those who are

04:51wrong, those who voted well and those who voted wrong. Some lives are more difficult than others,

04:58and it is for us to make better those who have difficult lives.

05:05My hope is to appease, to unite, and to act with a clear method, never betray our values,

05:12never forge an alliance with people with whom we have nothing in common.

05:18This is a new era for our candidates. We will have to come up with something new,

05:23something big, something useful, and for this, we will have to accept that everything

05:30can be challenged. As of tomorrow, we will have to build a new political offer.

05:37We have to think especially of the French, their lives. We have to represent hope for all of them

05:42with clear values. We have to guarantee the union of the country and not division. We have to be

05:50humane while being diverse. We have to provide security to be on the side of those who believe

05:55in France. We have to be on the side of our countrymen at all times. In this coming adventure,

06:03when we have to take up the flame of our ideals, I know that I can count on the support of millions

06:08of the French who refuse to see our values visibly. I know we can count on our newly elected

06:13members of parliament who said that we have to change to meet the expectations of the country.

06:20We shall refuse the extremes. We will not let the country being torn apart,

06:27where everyone goes for himself. We have to seek appeasement instead of going

06:37along. We have to remain loyal to our values, my fellow countrymen. We must show the strength of

06:53the country. We have to show what France is capable of. We have to be ready to rebuild

06:59the country because we are France and nothing resists the French people. Thank you.

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