To be influential in tomorrow's world, to defend our values and our development model, France needs Europe and Europe needs France.

That is now my mission: to provide a European vision of growth, employment, prosperity - in one word, our future.

A large country with such outstanding economic performance as Germany cannot forget that it owes some of its success to demand from other European countries.

Symbols mean a lot in politics. They indicate a will and create new realities.

I could have made a fortune in cheeseburgers, but I finally chose politics.

What is at stake is preserving our relations with the United States. They should not be changed because of what has happened. But trust has to be restored and reinforced.

I would like a UK fully engaged in Europe, but I can't decide in place of the British. I see that for the moment they want to be more in retreat.