From Paris to Brussels, via Berlin, tributes have been pouring in since the announcement of the death on Wednesday of Jacques Delors at the age of 98. “Builder” of the European Union, “inexhaustible craftsman of our Europe”: here are the main political reactions, in France and on the rest of the continent, to the death of the former president of the European Commission.
Emmanuel Macron
“Statesman with a French destiny. Inexhaustible craftsman of our Europe. Fighter for human justice. Jacques Delors was all of that. His commitment, his ideals and his righteousness will always inspire us. I salute his work and his memory and share the pain of his loved ones. », wrote the head of state on X.
Elisabeth Borne
“Jacques Delors, visionary and architect of the European Union, has just left us. A tireless craftsman of an ideal: his entire life was put at the service of peace and European solidarity. I am thinking of the euro or even Erasmus,” greeted the Prime Minister.
Yaël Braun-Pivet
“Incarnation of Europe, Jacques Delors is a life in the service of the French and all citizens of the EU. A great statesman passed away this evening,” said the President of the National Assembly.
Francois Hollande
For the former president, “he was looking for a path for social democracy, he was not chasing positions and mandates, he only sought them if he was sure he could find the forces and alliances allowing him to succeed . This was the meaning of his refusal to run in the 1995 presidential election.”
Lionel Jospin
“The trade unionist, the pioneer of economic and social issues, the advisor to Jacques Chaban-Delmas, the activist who joined, at the same time as Michel Rocard, the Socialist Party that François Mitterrand was renovating, the realist Minister of Economy and Finance , the passionate European who remarkably chaired the European Commission, left his mark on his era,” considered the former Prime Minister.
Laurent Fabius
For the President of the Constitutional Council, this death “is that of a great European, of a respected and listened to figure in the world, who acted for the public good and brought honor to France. »
Ségolène Royal
“I think he would have been an excellent President of the Republic because he had benchmarks (…) he had a sense of the values of solidarity, fraternity, modesty in the exercise of power. It was political action that interested him, but political combat was something that put him off,” explained the former presidential candidate on BFMTV.
Olivier Faure
For the boss of the PS, “a giant has just left us. Child of the century, he had experienced the worst and sought to ward off misfortune by building lasting peace. Through his union, ministerial and finally at the head of Europe, he leaves us an immense legacy. »
Jean-Luc Mélenchon
According to the leader of LFI, “Jacques Delors was a socialist of the generation which had an ideal. However far away we may have been, I salute the activist and the man of action who acted with the common good in mind. »
François Bayrou
For the president of MoDem, he “was an unparalleled reference. His vision of the world and the quality of his commitments, centered around a certain idea of Europe and a society of dialogue and trust, of an economy which did not forget the social aspect, gave a unique place and authority. »
Eric Ciotti
The president of LR paid “tribute to Jacques Delors, great European and peacemaker. I salute the memory of a defender of sound and efficient management of our public finances as Minister of the Economy and then as President of the European Commission. His dedication to France and European construction will remain a model of commitment. »
Olaf Scholz
He “defended European integration like no other: he led the European Commission for a decade and, as a visionary, became an architect of the EU as we know it today,” praised the Chancellor German.
Ursula von der Leyen
For the President of the European Commission, he “was a visionary who made our Europe stronger. His life’s work is a united, dynamic and prosperous European Union. It has shaped entire generations of Europeans, including mine. Let us honor his legacy by constantly renewing our Europe. »
Charles Michel
The President of the European Council praised the person who “led the transformation of the European Economic Community towards a true Union, based on humanist values and supported by a single market and a single currency, the euro. He was a passionate and concrete defender of it until his last days. A great Frenchman and a great European, he went down in history as one of the builders of our Europe. »
Many other reactions in Europe
“His successes were numerous,” declared the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, citing “the path he had shaped towards the creation of a common currency, the euro”. The President of the European Parliament, the Italian Roberta Metsola, and the head of EU diplomacy, the Spaniard Josep Borrell, each hailed Jacques Delors as a “giant”.
Among other leaders of European countries, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo spoke of “a founding father”. “His project for a stronger and more secure union remains extremely relevant for the Europe of tomorrow,” he continued. His Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez, wrote that Jacques Delors “always believed in a united, open and prosperous Europe. He worked to make what many thought impossible, a reality.” “Without him, Europe would not be what it is today,” he assured.
In Italy, it was the head of diplomacy, Antonio Tajani, who reacted first, deploring the disappearance of a “personality who showed, on the basis of Christian values, the path to the strengthening of Europe” . Former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, current president of the Jacques Delors Institute, paid tribute to “the strength of his moral authority” and “his fight for European integration”.