ウィスパリング同時通訳研究会コミュのEmmanuel Macron Address to a Joint Meeting of the U.S. Congress delivered 25 April 2018, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Honorable Members of the United States Congress, Ladies and gentlemen:
It is an honor for France, for the French people and for me to be received in this sanctuary of democracy where so much of the history of the United States has been written. We are surrounded today with images, portraits and symbols which reminds us that France has participated with heart in hand in the story of this great nation from the very beginning.
We have fought shoulder-to-shoulder many battles starting with those that gave birth to the United States of America. Since then, we have shared a common vision for humanity. Our two nations are rooted in the same soil, grounded in the same ideals of the American and French Revolutions. We have worked together for the universal ideals of liberty, tolerance and equal rights. And yet, this is also about our human, gutsy, personal bonds throughout history. In 1778, the French philosopher Voltaire and Benjamin Franklin met in Paris. John Adams tells a story that after they had shaken hands they embraced each other by hugging one another in their arms and kissing each other’s cheeks. It can remind you of something.
And this morning, I stand under the protective gaze of La Fayette2 right behind me. As a brave young man, he fought alongside George Washington and forged a tight relationship fuelled by respect and affection. La Fayette used to call himself a son of the United States and in 1792 George Washington became a son of America and France when our first republic awarded citizenship to him.
Here we stand in your beautiful capital city whose plans were conceived by a French architect, Charles L’Enfant. The miracle of the relationship between the United States and France is that we have never lost the special bond deeply rooted, not only in our history, but also in our flesh. This is why I invited President Donald Trump for the first Bastille Day Parade of my presidency on the 14th of July last year. Today, President Trump’s decision to offer France his first state visit to Washington has a particular resonance because it represents the continuity of our shared history in a troubled world. And let me thank your president and the First Lady for this wonderful invitation to my wife and myself.
I am also very grateful and I would like also to thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for welcoming me on this occasion. And I will like to specially thank you, Mr. Speaker, for your invitation. I want you to know how much I appreciate this unique gesture. Thank you, sir.
The strength of all bonds is the source of our shared ideals. This is what united us in the struggle against imperialism during the First World War, then in the fight against Nazism during the Second World War. This is what united us again during the era of the Stalinist threat. And now, we lean on that strength to fight against terrorist groups. Let us for a moment transport ourselves to the past. Imagine, this is July 4, 1916. Back then, the United States had not entered World War I. And yet, a young American poet enlisted in the ranks of our Foreign Legion because he loved France and he loved the cause of freedom. This young American would fight and die on Independence Day at Belloy-an-Santerre, not far from Amiens, my hometown, after having written these words: I have a rendezvous with death. The name of this young American was Alan Seeger.
Since 1776, we, the American and French people, have had a rendezvous with freedom. And with it comes sacrifices. That is why we are very honored by the presence today of Robert Jackson Ewald, a World War II veteran. Robert Jackson Ewald took part in the D-Day landing. He fought for our freedom 74 years ago. Sir, on behalf of France, thank you. I bow to your courage and your devotion.
In recent years, our nations have suffered wrenching losses simply because of our values and our taste for freedom. Because these values are the very ones those terrorists precisely hates. Tragically, on September 11, 2001, many Americans had an unexpected rendezvous with death. Over the last 5 years, my country and Europe also experienced terrible terrorist attacks. And we shall never forget these innocent victims nor the incredible resilience of our people in the aftermath. It is a horrific price to pay for freedom, for democracy. That is why we stand together in Syria and in Israel today. To fight together against these terrorist groups who seek to destroy everything for which we stand. We have encountered countless rendezvous with deaths because we have this constant attachment to freedom and democracy.
As emblazoned on the flags of the French Revolutionaries: Vivre libre ou mourir. "Live free or die." Thankfully, freedom is also the source of all that is worth living for. Freedom is a call to think and to love. It is a call to our will. That is why, in times of peace, France and the United States were able to forge unbreakable bonds from the grief of painful memories. The most indestructible, the most powerful, the most definitive knot between us is the ones that ties the true purpose of our people to advance -- as Abraham Lincoln said, the "unfinished" business of democracy.3 Indeed, our two societies have stood up to advance the human rights for all. They have engaged in a continual dialogue to impact this unfinished business.
In this Capitol Rotunda, the bust of Martin Luther King, assassinated 50 years ago, reminds us of the inspiration of African-American leaders, artists, writers who have become part of our common heritage. We celebrate, among them, James Baldwin and Richard Wright, whom France hosted on our soil. We have shared the history of civil rights. France’s Simone de Beauvoir became a respected figure in the movement for gender equality in America in the 70s. Women’s rights have long been a fundamental driver for our societies on both sides of the Atlantic. This explains why the Me Too Movement has recently had such a deep resonance in France.
Democracy is made of day-to-day conversation and mutual understanding between citizens. It is easier and deeper when we have the ability to speak each other’s language. The heart of Francophonie also beats hear in the United States. From New Orleans to Seattle, I want this heart to beat even harder in American schools all across the country. Democracy relies also on the faculty of freely describing the present and the capacity to invent a future.
This is what culture brings. Thousands of examples come to mind when we think of the exchanges between our cultures across the centuries. From Tomas Jefferson, who was ambassador to France and built his house in Monticello based on a building he loved in Paris, to Hemmingway’s novel, [A] Moveable Feast, celebrating the capital city of France. From our great 19th century French writer, Chateaubriand, bring to the French people the dream of American’s open spaces, forests and mountains, to Faulkner’s novels crafted in the Deep South that first read in France where they quickly gained literary praise; from Jazz coming from Louisiana and the Blues from Mississippi finding in France an enthusiastic public to the American fascination for Impressionists and the French Modern and Contemporary Arts. These exchanges are vibrant in so many fields: from cinema to fashion, from design to high cuisine, from sports to visual arts. Medicine and scientific research as well as business and innovation are also significant parts of our shared journey. The United States is France’s first scientific partner. Our economic ties create hundreds of thousands of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.
The story of France and the United States is a story of an endless dialogue made of common dreams of a common struggle for dignity and progress. It is the best achievement of our democratic principles and values. This is this very special relationship. This is us.
But we must remember the warning of President Theodore Roosevelt [Ronald Reagan]:
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, handed on for them to do the same.4
This is an urgent reminder indeed because now, going beyond our bilateral ties, beyond our very special relationship, Europe and the United States must face together the global challenges of the century. And we cannot take for granted our transatlantic history and bonds. At the core, our Western values, themselves, are at risk. We have to succeed facing these challenges and we cannot succeed in forgetting our principles and our history. In fact, the 21st Century have brought a series of new threats and new challenges that our ancestors might not ever have imagined. Our strongest beliefs are challenged by the rise of a yet unknown new world order. Our societies are concerned about the future of their children. All of us gathered here in this noble chamber, we elected officials all share a responsibility to demonstrate that democracy remains the best answer to the questions and doubts that are raised today. Even if the foundations of our progress are disrupted we must stand firmly and fight to make our principles prevail.
But we bear another responsibility inherited from our collected history. Today, the international community needs to step up our game and build the 21st Century world order based on the perennial principles we established together after World War II. The rule of law, the fundamental values in which we secured peace for 70 years, are now questioned by urgent issues that require our joint action. Together, with our international allies and partners, we are facing inequalities created by globalization; threats to the planet our common good; attacks on democracy through the rise of liberalism; and the destabilization of our international community by new powers and criminal states. All these risks aggrieve our citizens. Both in the United States and in Europe, we are living in a time of anger and fear because of these current threats. But these feelings do not build anything. You can play with fears and angers for a time but they do not construct anything. Anger only freezes and weakens us. And as Franklin Delano Roosevelt said during his first inaugural speech: “The only thing we have to fear, it is fear itself.”
Therefore, let me say we have two possible ways ahead. We can choose isolationism, withdrawal, and nationalism. This is an option. It can be tempting to us as a temporary remedy to our fears. But closing the door to the world will not stop the evolution of the world. It will not douse but inflame the fears of our citizens. We have to keep our eyes wide open to the new risks right in front of us. I’m convinced that if we decide to open our eyes wider we will be stronger. We will overcome the dangers. We will not let the rampaging work of extreme nationalism shake a world full of hope for greater prosperity.