Speaker 1: You're listening to Comedy Central. Christmas in Africa is very interesting, Yeah,
Speaker 1: because it's summer, so it has none of the cheer
Speaker 1: that you guys associate with it in America. It's just
Speaker 1: like sweaty people delivering presents. It's very different vibe. Like
Speaker 1: unwrapping gifts is a lot more fun when you're like
Speaker 1: cozy next to like a fireplace when it's hot. It
Speaker 1: just feels like a job. Do you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: Who did you kid me? Why are you making me work?
Speaker 1: Why did you bring it wrapped? Why didn't you just
Speaker 1: bring it unwrapped? I don't think I ever got a
Speaker 1: wrapped gift. Like no, when I was a kid growing up,
Speaker 1: I never got a rep Why would I've never understood
Speaker 1: the concept of a wrap gift. It can It only
Speaker 1: breathes like disappointment because everyone is just like, oh, I
Speaker 1: wonder what it is. It's never what you thought it is.
Speaker 1: That's a very sad way to live life. You shouldn't
Speaker 1: wrap gifts. You should you know what you should use
Speaker 1: wrapping paper for? For like for after the gifts people
Speaker 1: give you things and then you go like, man, I
Speaker 1: don't like that. And when you wrap it up. That's
Speaker 1: what rapping should be for. It's like, I wish this
Speaker 1: never happened. This is all you brought me after a
Speaker 1: year of being in my life. That's what wrapping ship
Speaker 1: be for. It's just it's like it said, and it's
Speaker 1: it's not bad by the way. I'm just saying, it's funny.
Speaker 1: When you come from a different place, your mindset on
Speaker 1: these things is completely different. I've just never had a
Speaker 1: wrapped present, Nor do I enjoy rapping. I hate when
Speaker 1: people say that to me. I have Americans in my
Speaker 1: life now and they're like, oh, you didn't wrap it.
Speaker 1: I brought you ship. I I brought you some ship.
Speaker 1: Now you want me to wrap the ship. It's already
Speaker 1: in a package as well. Now I just say climate change.
Speaker 1: Then they can't say anything. But for a few years
Speaker 1: I just have to fight with people. Oh why didn't
Speaker 1: you wrap it? Because it's come, It's comes wrapped, it's
Speaker 1: in packaging. You want to have the packaging of the packaging,
Speaker 1: do you know what I mean? But I want the surprise.
Speaker 1: Then close your eyes before you look at the ship.
Speaker 1: You're gonna make your surprise. My job. I brought you
Speaker 1: this ship. You know what it was a surprise for me.
Speaker 1: How much your present cost me? That was a surprise.
Speaker 1: Why didn't you wrap this ship? Why didn't you buy it?
Speaker 1: Want surprises and you want gifts. I can't do everything
Speaker 1: in your life. Some bullshit of Merry Christmas, everybody. I mean.
Speaker 1: Coming to you from the heart of times for in
Speaker 1: New York City, the only city in America. It's The
Speaker 1: Daily Show. Here's edition tonight. Oh, can't stop, don't stop?
Speaker 1: What China is up to in Africa? And Bruno Lamire.
Speaker 1: This is the Daily Show with Trevor no Hey, what's
Speaker 1: going on? Everybody? Welcome to the Daily Show. I'm Trevor Noah.
Speaker 1: Let's jump straight into today's headlines. We kick things off
Speaker 1: with the only story everybody has been talking about for
Speaker 1: two years now, the coronavirus pandemic. Yeah, this thing is
Speaker 1: starting to feel a lot like a Marvel movie. It's exciting,
Speaker 1: but it's kind of dragging on for a really long time. Now.
Speaker 1: The omicron wave that we've been waiting for has now
Speaker 1: hit the US for real. Hospitals are starting to fill
Speaker 1: up again. Big companies that were planning to bring workers
Speaker 1: back to the office in January have postponed until May,
Speaker 1: and concerts and shows are shutting down. A lot of
Speaker 1: people are saying that it feels like March all over again.
Speaker 1: But people please have some optimism. Things are much better
Speaker 1: now than they were back then. For one, we have
Speaker 1: vaccines too, we have treatments, and three, no one thinks
Speaker 1: zoom happy hours are a good idea. We've done a lot.
Speaker 1: But while we are being reminded about just how serious
Speaker 1: this pandemic is, there are still some people who are
Speaker 1: taking it just a little more likely. A cape coral
Speaker 1: man was spotted on a United Airlines flight masking up,
Speaker 1: but not with one of these. He actually was wearing
Speaker 1: underwear on his face. This is Adam Jenny wearing his
Speaker 1: statement piece, Bright Red Songs. I think the best way
Speaker 1: to illustrate absurdity is with absurdity. Jenny says he's worn
Speaker 1: underwear as a mask since the beginning of the pandemic.
Speaker 1: I am banned from flying United, so so much for
Speaker 1: the customer is always right. Jenny is comparing himself to
Speaker 1: civil rights icons. Everything else that has sparked changed in
Speaker 1: this country has started from everyday people. Rosa Parks was
Speaker 1: nobody famous. She changed the course of history rosa pox,
Speaker 1: my man, don't be so modest. You're more than rosa pox.
Speaker 1: If anything, you're the modern Luther. King of white dudes
Speaker 1: comparing themselves to black heroes for no reason. Ship, you know,
Speaker 1: for real? Sometimes I think conservatives are right. America shouldn't
Speaker 1: be teaching the history of racism in schools, because then
Speaker 1: at least white people wouldn't know who to compare themselves
Speaker 1: too when they get kicked off of airplanes for doing
Speaker 1: dumb ships. I'm exactly the same as Huh. I can't
Speaker 1: think of anybody, you know, uh, like, maybe just a
Speaker 1: dumbass wearing panties on my face. I need to reevaluate
Speaker 1: my behavior. And by the way, and we all agree,
Speaker 1: there's no way this dude just started sniffing thongs during
Speaker 1: the pandemic. I bet you he's been going around for years. Like, Well,
Speaker 1: it looks like I got kicked out of the dorm
Speaker 1: because I'm once again the rose are parts of my
Speaker 1: sister's friends underwear drawer. Yeah, someone's got to do it.
Speaker 1: But as long as we're talking about civil rights, let's
Speaker 1: move on to a story about Martin Luther King Day.
Speaker 1: Some people are saying America needs to stop celebrating MLK
Speaker 1: Day next year, but the people suggesting it might not
Speaker 1: be who you think. Martin Luther King the third is
Speaker 1: asking people not to celebrate his father's legacy on MLK
Speaker 1: Day coming up next month. If Congress has not passed
Speaker 1: new national voting rights protection. They're calling on President Joe
Speaker 1: Biden and lawmakers to pass two voting rights bills that
Speaker 1: have installed in Congress. One is aimed at fighting voter
Speaker 1: suppression and it's restoring the nine Voting Rights Act. The
Speaker 1: other focused on reforms making it easier to register to vote.
Speaker 1: This is hardcore, but I get why the King family
Speaker 1: has to resort to this. I mean, with Republicans blocking
Speaker 1: the new laws and Joe Manchin and Kirsten Cinema refusing
Speaker 1: to end the filibusters so that Democrats can post it themselves,
Speaker 1: someone has to think outside of the box. And holding
Speaker 1: a holiday as a hostage is a great leverage. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's a brilliant idea because I don't care how racist
Speaker 1: you are, nobody wants to give up a day off
Speaker 1: of work. In fact, if you ask me, they shouldn't
Speaker 1: just threaten to take m l K Day. No you
Speaker 1: know what they should do. They should threaten to turn
Speaker 1: MLK Day into a second Valentine's Day. That's a real threat,
Speaker 1: and nobody wants to put their relationship in that much trouble.
Speaker 1: You forgot Valentine's Day does another one? Still, this is
Speaker 1: a risky strategy because you realize Republicans have a way
Speaker 1: of twisting everything related to m l K. Yeah, tomorrow,
Speaker 1: Rondo sanctists could come out and be like, the King
Speaker 1: family is right. We've got to defend Dr King's dream.
Speaker 1: That's right. From now on, all black people in Florida
Speaker 1: can vote exclusively in their dreams. So no need to
Speaker 1: show up any morning election day black people. We did
Speaker 1: it all right. But let's move on to our top story.
Speaker 1: Back in the day, when one country wanted to take
Speaker 1: over another country, they had to beat them in a war,
Speaker 1: or they had to rent the other country on Airbnb
Speaker 1: and then just never leave. But now it looks like
Speaker 1: a country might have found a way to take over
Speaker 1: another country with the stroke of a pen. China has
Speaker 1: recently been accused of trying to take over Uganda's Soul
Speaker 1: International Airport if the East African country fails to pay
Speaker 1: a two hundred million dollar loan for the expansion of
Speaker 1: the site. At this rate, if Uganda fails to repay
Speaker 1: the loan, Uganda's only international airport will soon be a
Speaker 1: Chinese asset. In response to the public outcry over the
Speaker 1: loan agreement, the Chinese Embassy in Uganda issued a statement saying, quote,
Speaker 1: not a single project in Africa has ever been confiscated
Speaker 1: by China because of failing to pay Chinese loans. China
Speaker 1: might be threatening to take Uganda's airport because of a
Speaker 1: loan that might not be paid. And and I don't know,
Speaker 1: maybe it's just me, but that statement was not the
Speaker 1: most reassuring thing I've ever heard. Because we've never confiscated
Speaker 1: an airport. It's very different from we're never going to
Speaker 1: confiscate an airport. Like if you ask your spouse promise
Speaker 1: me you'll never cheat on me, and she says, of course,
Speaker 1: I promised that. Up to now, I have never cheated
Speaker 1: on you. Oh, she's gonna cheat on you. And I
Speaker 1: know what you're thinking right now. You're like, I didn't
Speaker 1: even know Africa had airports. First of all, you we've
Speaker 1: had them since the nineties. And secondly, you're probably wondering
Speaker 1: what the hell is going on with the story? How
Speaker 1: can one country take another country's airport? Do they just
Speaker 1: take over its operations or do they actually get one
Speaker 1: of those claw things that just scoop it up and
Speaker 1: then take it back to their country, And if so,
Speaker 1: can they do that to La Guardia to please? But
Speaker 1: maybe the biggest question is what is China even doing
Speaker 1: in Africa in the first place. Well, let's find out
Speaker 1: in another installment of If you don't know, Now you
Speaker 1: know Africa. It's where I was born and raised and
Speaker 1: where you missed the rain from. Ever since the age
Speaker 1: of colonialism ended, Africa has been working hard to modernize
Speaker 1: its economies and catch up with the rest of the world.
Speaker 1: But to do that, it needs lots and lots of
Speaker 1: new infrastructure, roads, railways, ports, dams, cheesecake factories, you name it,
Speaker 1: Africa needs to build it. The only problem is that
Speaker 1: stuff all costs a shipload of money, money that most
Speaker 1: African countries don't have. But in recent years, many African
Speaker 1: countries have found themselves a new sugar daddy, China. Over
Speaker 1: the last several decades, China has been pumping resources into Africa.
Speaker 1: The country has invested hundreds of billions of dollars across
Speaker 1: the continent, ranging and everything from transportation and infrastructure to
Speaker 1: real estate and technology. Large African infrastructure projects would be
Speaker 1: viewed as risky by any traditional bank and would therefore
Speaker 1: struggle to get financed. But China's Exports Import Bank doesn't care.
Speaker 1: This bank will give low interest or no interest loans
Speaker 1: to African countries so they can build these trains or
Speaker 1: dams or other projects. China touch the fact that their
Speaker 1: foreign investment and aid is no strings attached, with no
Speaker 1: requirements on factors like respect of human rights or democratic elections.
Speaker 1: We do not interfere in the internal affairs of African countries,
Speaker 1: impose our will on African countries, or attach any political
Speaker 1: conditions on economic aid. That's right, baby, China has been
Speaker 1: making a rain in Africa. It's the most money anyone
Speaker 1: has sent to Africa without being guilt tripped by a
Speaker 1: celebrities sing along and no strings attached. By the way,
Speaker 1: China doesn't care about your government or human rights or anything.
Speaker 1: They're basically the cool mom of international finance. Oh you
Speaker 1: and your friends, you want to come party this weekend,
Speaker 1: will come to it to now basement with your child soldiers.
Speaker 1: We didn't hear a thing. So in many ways this
Speaker 1: is a great arrangement to Africa. But maybe it won't
Speaker 1: come as a surprise that China isn't just giving billions
Speaker 1: of risky loans to Africa out of the goodness of
Speaker 1: its heart. Many scholars suggest Beijing's true end game in
Speaker 1: Africa is not solely financial, but rather political. There is
Speaker 1: empirical evidence that China has been using these infrastructure investments
Speaker 1: to affect worldwide politics. It's been found that if an
Speaker 1: African country recognize this time One as a country, they
Speaker 1: receive on average, two point seven fewer Chinese infrastructure projects
Speaker 1: within their borders each year. Conversely, if an African country
Speaker 1: votes overwhelmingly along with China in the United Nations General Assembly,
Speaker 1: they receive one point eight more infrastructure projects each year.
Speaker 1: At one point or another, thirty African countries have had
Speaker 1: formal relations with Taiwan. Now Swatini is the only African
Speaker 1: nation to recognize the island yep. That's the power of
Speaker 1: money right there. Enough of it can make you switch allegiances,
Speaker 1: change your principles, do anything healthful. Enough money you could
Speaker 1: probably get Africans to start saying that Africa is just
Speaker 1: one country. Yes, yes, I just want a big country
Speaker 1: full of gi laps h. Where is the money? Still,
Speaker 1: China has been really successful with this. Out of all
Speaker 1: of Africa, every country has broken off relations with Taiwan
Speaker 1: except Swatini, which means Swatini either really has like principles
Speaker 1: that they stick to or they just haven't heard about
Speaker 1: the deal yet. Good for you, Satiny refusing that money
Speaker 1: from China. What China's giving out money? Hold on Taiwan,
Speaker 1: it's over. Yeah, I'll come by latest to get my things.
Speaker 1: And you might say, well, tough luck for Taiwan, but
Speaker 1: subordinating your foreign policy to another country is probably worth
Speaker 1: it if it means getting all this investments. I mean
Speaker 1: of all the jobs that these projects create in Africa.
Speaker 1: And it is true these projects do create jobs. It's
Speaker 1: just that many of those jobs are going to China
Speaker 1: in Africa, and China's estimated to have one almost half
Speaker 1: of all engineering procurements and construction contracts. But those contracts
Speaker 1: haven't come without controversy. The country has been accused of
Speaker 1: unfair labor practices in Africa, including bringing its own workers
Speaker 1: instead of hiring locally. The steady influx of Chinese companies
Speaker 1: and workers of field accusations the wealth and opportunities are
Speaker 1: not being shared with the local community. We all do
Speaker 1: the railway work, but the Chinese constantly say we're the boss.
Speaker 1: We're the ones who run the show. This is Ethiopia's
Speaker 1: main Chinese economic zone. This small business makes jeanes. Everything
Speaker 1: is imported from China, sewing machines, methods and supervisors. That's okay,
Speaker 1: that all of the games are Yeah, the average salary
Speaker 1: of an Ethiopian worker is fifty six dollars a month,
Speaker 1: ten times less than the average Chinese worker. That's right.
Speaker 1: When China invest in these projects, they often send over
Speaker 1: Chinese workers to Africa to fill all the best positions,
Speaker 1: which isn't right. I mean, the best jobs shouldn't be
Speaker 1: given to a person because of where they're from. The
Speaker 1: best job should be given to whoever has the best
Speaker 1: answers in a job interview. So what's your biggest weakness?
Speaker 1: And don't say working too hard, oh, masturbating in public?
Speaker 1: I like your honesty. You're hired. And even when Africans
Speaker 1: are employed, they treated differently, sometimes even segregated from the
Speaker 1: Chinese workers, and that's wrong. I mean, we need Chinese
Speaker 1: and African people to spend more time together because of
Speaker 1: all the hygienk s they'll get up to. I mean,
Speaker 1: we haven't had a Rush Hour sequel in like twenty years, guys.
Speaker 1: So China is gaining control over Africa's foreign policy and
Speaker 1: it's best jobs. Not to mention, a lot of these
Speaker 1: projects put Chinese companies in charge of Africa's prized natural resources,
Speaker 1: especially precious metals, which is super important because those precious
Speaker 1: metals are in basically every piece of advanced technology these days.
Speaker 1: I'm talking everything, cause, appliances, elon, musk everything. So when
Speaker 1: you start to examine this relationship as a whole, it
Speaker 1: actually starts to look a lot less like a loan,
Speaker 1: a lot more like a new kind of colonialism. And
Speaker 1: that's that's before we even get to what happens if
Speaker 1: the loans aren't repaid. Analysts have accused them of debt colonialism.
Speaker 1: There are fierce China is making loans and knows states
Speaker 1: cannot repay. Beijing may engage in critics characterize as debt
Speaker 1: trapped diplomacy lending design to force countries into handing over land,
Speaker 1: minerals and strategic assets. When they default on a loan
Speaker 1: to build this Belton Road railroad with Chinese loans, Kenya
Speaker 1: agree to apply Chinese law inside Kenya and give up
Speaker 1: East Africa's largest sport if it couldn't repay its debts.
Speaker 1: Some countries are relying on gradually repaying the debts to
Speaker 1: China by shipping specific quantities of oil. Sometimes the loans
Speaker 1: are repaid in natural resources such as cobalt. As Africa's
Speaker 1: largest bilateral creditor, China holds more of the continent's death.
Speaker 1: Many African countries were already crippled under the weight of
Speaker 1: the money they owe China. Now the coronavirus pandemic has
Speaker 1: made it nearly impossible for many to keep up with
Speaker 1: debt payments. Basically, China has negotiated agreements with our African
Speaker 1: countries which are so egregious in benefiting China they could
Speaker 1: take all of Africa at a firesale price. Ah. Yes,
Speaker 1: the debt trap. It's like the first trap of infrastructure.
Speaker 1: China's just strutting around with its railroads hanging out. What
Speaker 1: is Africa is supposed to do? Not hit the light button?
Speaker 1: I mean, say what you want about European colonizers, but
Speaker 1: at least they were up front. It's about it, right,
Speaker 1: we're taking all your ship and if you don't like it,
Speaker 1: you can go to the U. N are white, they
Speaker 1: don't exist yet. Bach for what China is doing, there's
Speaker 1: a lot like terms and conditions. Yeah, they know Africa
Speaker 1: can't afford not to take the deals that they offer,
Speaker 1: and then when Africa can't pay it back, the Chinese
Speaker 1: are like, right, we're taking all your ship and if
Speaker 1: you don't like it, read the fine print, beach. So look,
Speaker 1: this isn't a great situation for Africa, and the rest
Speaker 1: of the world really needs to know what is happening here.
Speaker 1: Although if there's anything I've learned is that people don't
Speaker 1: really care about Africa. In fact, people don't care about
Speaker 1: most issues until it affects them personally, until they've seen
Speaker 1: like a movie about it. I mean, these days, killers
Speaker 1: get exonerated because of something people watched on Netflix. Actually,
Speaker 1: maybe the only way to get people to care about
Speaker 1: Africa is if we turn it into a movie. We're
Speaker 1: here for your airport, handover the keys. We will hand
Speaker 1: you nothing. You will never understand the ways of our
Speaker 1: land or our airport too bad. Now it's China's airport,
Speaker 1: the runways, the terminals, the saga tuna sandwiches that we
Speaker 1: made in twenty it's all ours. But the tons of
Speaker 1: this didner unfair? Well, then maybe you shouldn't have agreed
Speaker 1: to ad. We had no choice. Tell him, man, not
Speaker 1: day dreaming about Sinda. Come on, man, China is about
Speaker 1: to take control of our airport. Focus. Sorry, I focused China.
Speaker 1: You are taking our advantage of Africa's plight, knocking us
Speaker 1: into on our contracts, or that you can't plunder our
Speaker 1: resources are And by the way, when I say China,
Speaker 1: I'm talking about the Chinese government, I'm not talking about
Speaker 1: Chinese people. Of course, you know nothing against Chinese people
Speaker 1: cause I it hashtag stop Asian Hay. But what are
Speaker 1: you gonna do about it? Huh? This is the best
Speaker 1: deal you're gonna get. People can only be oppressed so
Speaker 1: long before those people eventually get tired of oppression and
Speaker 1: stand up. Am I right? Stop thinking about the Dama Man,
Speaker 1: We're about to lose the airport. I don't know why
Speaker 1: I keep doing it. Maybe she's got the plan for us.
Speaker 1: Maybe there's a dealer you just did dreaming. You know what,
Speaker 1: Let me go and try and find this lady. You
Speaker 1: talk to this China guy. I'll get it back to you.
Speaker 1: I hope you get eaten my big gass worm. Wait,
Speaker 1: this is Power one? How long is this movie? Sorry? Guys,
Speaker 1: that would have been better quality if I had a budget,
Speaker 1: but I didn't want to take any money from China.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is
Speaker 1: French Finance Minister Bruno Lemaire. He's here to talk about
Speaker 1: the relationship between France and America and how the country
Speaker 1: is responding to the challenges from COVID all the way
Speaker 1: through to Russia. Mr Lemaire, welcome to the show. Thank you,
Speaker 1: good evening. Thank you so much for joining us here today,
Speaker 1: especially during this time. I feel like you're one of
Speaker 1: the best people who I could speak to about one
Speaker 1: of the countries that's central to the direction that Europe
Speaker 1: is going to be taking in the coming years. Let's
Speaker 1: let's maybe start with the biggest question, the pressing question.
Speaker 1: Great Britain has left the European Union. Angela Merkel is
Speaker 1: stepping down after sixteen years, you know, leading the European
Speaker 1: Bloc France is now seen as one of the key
Speaker 1: players that has to step into a role of guiding
Speaker 1: Europe in a certain direction. But it feels like with COVID,
Speaker 1: with Russia, with the world's economy, there is a lot
Speaker 1: to do. What is France's plan for moving Europe forward?
Speaker 1: And is it an optimistic outlook? Real optimistic? And our
Speaker 1: plan is quite clear. We want a stronger Europe, we
Speaker 1: want to Europe that will be more independent, and we
Speaker 1: want to France to play a key role in this
Speaker 1: building back better of Europe. I'm totally against this way
Speaker 1: of thinking that France would be on decline. France is
Speaker 1: absolutely not on decline. Frances booming, Europe is booming and
Speaker 1: our best years for our children. It's interesting that you
Speaker 1: say francis booming and France is not on the decline,
Speaker 1: and yet there are people in France who may feel
Speaker 1: the opposite. And I only say that because what I've
Speaker 1: learned in America and we learned all around the world
Speaker 1: is the reality may not necessarily match the perception that
Speaker 1: some people have, and that perception can oftentimes be more
Speaker 1: powerful in terms of determining inclationally. But you know, we
Speaker 1: want to avoid a kind of Trumps experience interesting. I
Speaker 1: really think that it would not be the best way
Speaker 1: for France. But we have thirty or thirty five of
Speaker 1: the French population which stands ready to vote for far
Speaker 1: right parties right, so we need we need to understand why.
Speaker 1: I think that there is a question of identity. There
Speaker 1: is a question of fear. People are concerned by the COVID,
Speaker 1: people are concerned by the rise of China. People are
Speaker 1: concerned by their own identity, and we need to respawn
Speaker 1: to those questions while avoiding new divisions in the French society.
Speaker 1: Once again, we don't want to leave what you have
Speaker 1: lived with the Trumpet experience in the United States. Let's
Speaker 1: talk a little bit about some of those things. Mean,
Speaker 1: you recently had a debate with a far right conservative
Speaker 1: in in in France, who you know is on a
Speaker 1: news program that is that is very far right, and
Speaker 1: some people would say she had similar to Fox News
Speaker 1: was and he he's planning to run in the country
Speaker 1: and he's stoking those fears and those divisions. I would
Speaker 1: love to know if we start with identity, because that's
Speaker 1: a key one in France. France has always had this
Speaker 1: beautiful idea forget religion, forget your race, forget everything else.
Speaker 1: We are French, and we are French together. It seems
Speaker 1: like there is now starting to be a rift between
Speaker 1: some who say being French is only attainable fully if
Speaker 1: you are white and a Francophile, or being French is
Speaker 1: only fully attainable if if you are willing to, you know,
Speaker 1: get rid of all of your your your cultural ideas.
Speaker 1: And some argue that being French only should be reserved
Speaker 1: for people who are white and of European descent. How
Speaker 1: do you how do you bring those two worlds together
Speaker 1: without anyone feeling alienated, but also trying to get to
Speaker 1: that that that ideal. But I think it would be
Speaker 1: a total mistake to think that you can only be
Speaker 1: French if you are white and if you have the
Speaker 1: hairs of the one hundred, two hundred or three hundred years.
Speaker 1: I think it would really be a mistake. You can
Speaker 1: be black, can be white, you can be a musclim
Speaker 1: can be you can be Catholic, you can come from Brittany,
Speaker 1: or you can come from Morocco. That's not an issue
Speaker 1: provided that you love France. I've debate debated with Xama.
Speaker 1: He's pretending like zoro Z is pretending to rescue the people.
Speaker 1: He's not rescuing the people. He's dividing the people. He's
Speaker 1: fuelling the people with fear and with hate. That's exactly
Speaker 1: what we want to fight against. You know, there is
Speaker 1: an American dream based on the possibility to become rich
Speaker 1: and to be successful. I like the American dream, but
Speaker 1: there is also a French dream, which is based on freedom,
Speaker 1: which is based on equality, which is based on fraternity.
Speaker 1: We are all responsible for the future of the nation,
Speaker 1: and that's the key point of the French dream. I
Speaker 1: have the French dream in the roots of my heart,
Speaker 1: and I will fight against those people which are trying
Speaker 1: to divide the French society, which are trying to put
Speaker 1: the people against one each other, because I would think
Speaker 1: that it cannot be the future for France. Do you
Speaker 1: think France could do a better job of giving everybody
Speaker 1: access to the French dream? Who is in France? You know,
Speaker 1: like we've seen stories of people who have names names
Speaker 1: like Dalo or not getting interviews, or people who are
Speaker 1: Muslim struggling to integrate into French culture. Do you think
Speaker 1: France could do a better job of that yes, yes,
Speaker 1: it's let's be very frank. We could do a far
Speaker 1: better job, and we have to take into account the
Speaker 1: difficulties of the people who are of foreign origins, who
Speaker 1: are trying to do their best to be successful in
Speaker 1: the French society, to have access to the highest position,
Speaker 1: and they are facing big hurdles. We should get rid
Speaker 1: of those hurdles and we should make its place for
Speaker 1: everybody which is taking the right decisions and which is
Speaker 1: doing its best efforts to be successful. I think that
Speaker 1: we can do far better on that field. Let's talk
Speaker 1: a little bit about geopolitics right now. One of the
Speaker 1: biggest pressing issues in Europe is the conversation around Russia.
Speaker 1: I know that President mccon recently spoke to the presidents
Speaker 1: of Russia Ladimir Putin, and it seems like all of
Speaker 1: these discussions, whether it's with Putin, whether it's with Biden,
Speaker 1: seemed affable on the surface. But on the border of Ukraine,
Speaker 1: there's an army that has gathered and Europe seems to
Speaker 1: be worrying about what that might mean. Now. Most countries
Speaker 1: seem to believe that any militaristic inter intervention would be
Speaker 1: the worst possible outcome. We see Afghanistan, we see the world.
Speaker 1: People do not have an appetite for war. However, many
Speaker 1: people wonder what the European Union would do if Russia
Speaker 1: were to invade Ukraine. Is there any idea of a
Speaker 1: plan in place? The plan is to be very clear
Speaker 1: towards putin. If there is any attempt to the Ukraine border,
Speaker 1: then the consequences for Russia will be very bad. And
Speaker 1: you know, there is one thing that we should really avoid,
Speaker 1: which is any kind of military action, because military action
Speaker 1: is never the solution. So we have been very clear,
Speaker 1: both Prison Biden and Prison Macon, we will never accept
Speaker 1: any attempt and any threats against Ukraine. Do you think
Speaker 1: financial sanctions will be enough as a threat? Financial sanctions
Speaker 1: might be a possibility, but not the only one. Another
Speaker 1: conversation in and around France, very dear to my heart,
Speaker 1: obviously coming from the continent, is the conversation between or
Speaker 1: around France and its former colonies. For a long time,
Speaker 1: many Africans have felt like France and not alone in this.
Speaker 1: You know, the same thing with Great Britain et cetera.
Speaker 1: Has done a terrible job in reconciling with its past
Speaker 1: actions in Africa. To Africans who speak French, who have
Speaker 1: lived under the French for so long, and who now
Speaker 1: say we are struggling because of a past of colonialism,
Speaker 1: what do you think France could be doing better on
Speaker 1: the continent to try and right some of its wrongs.
Speaker 1: I mean, we know we live in a world where
Speaker 1: everyone is conquered, everyone was invaders. I'm not even saying
Speaker 1: it's a blame thing. Do you think that something France
Speaker 1: could be doing to try and improve the relationship between
Speaker 1: these African countries and the country of France. I think
Speaker 1: that we are doing our best to try to build reconciliation,
Speaker 1: and reconciliation is a key word, of course. Were Conciliations
Speaker 1: means understanding the past of all those countries. Reconciliation means
Speaker 1: that you have to be respectful. Reconciliation also means providing
Speaker 1: help to those countries. You are just speaking about COVID.
Speaker 1: COVID is a nightmare for everybody, But what the hell
Speaker 1: if you have all the Western countries being successful in
Speaker 1: fighting against COVID and you have African countries without the
Speaker 1: possibility of fighting COVID and facing the pandemic, the result
Speaker 1: will be negative for all of us, So helping the
Speaker 1: other countries could be also a solution. For the last
Speaker 1: point on that the economic um support that we're giving
Speaker 1: to African countries is absolutely key. Your render risk of
Speaker 1: having a new great divergence from an economic point of
Speaker 1: view between the European continent and United States on the
Speaker 1: one side and African countries on the other side. We
Speaker 1: should definitely fight against that big gap between the two continents.
Speaker 1: Are you doing anything to try and insulate African countries
Speaker 1: from China and and the influence that they're because it
Speaker 1: seems like a new types it seems like a new
Speaker 1: tripal colganization. I think that there is the old type
Speaker 1: of colonization and we are trying to build a reconciliation
Speaker 1: and there is a new type and would not use
Speaker 1: the word colonization, but a type of influence which is
Speaker 1: a very hard one coming from China. And we're explaining
Speaker 1: to all African countries that we have to build a
Speaker 1: new partnership based on an equal footing. Equal footing is
Speaker 1: absolutely key and maybe it could be a little bit
Speaker 1: more cautious visa China. Thank you so much, Thank you,
Speaker 1: thank you so much. We're gonna take a quick break,
Speaker 1: but we'll be right back after this. Well, that's our
Speaker 1: show for tonight, but before we go, please consider supporting
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Speaker 1: achieve emotional well being and to giving them the support
Speaker 1: and the skills that they need to survive. So if
Speaker 1: you want to support them in their work, especially during
Speaker 1: the stressful holiday season, then please donate at the link below.
Speaker 1: Until next time, stay safe out there, get your vaccine,
Speaker 1: and remember, if China offers you money to make your
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Speaker 1: a Comedy Central podcast