It's a different outlook, and one that I understand. When you are a former member of the Warsaw Pact, when you have lived behind the Berlin Wall, when you have experienced the communist systems that existed in these countries, for them, the West represents hope.

I think that the proposed constitution is one of the European legal documents with the strongest social dimension I have seen since I began following European issues.

I am a believer, but I affirm that in public buildings the law of the Republic overrides religious rules.

Prohibiting a visible religious sign, which isn't a manifestation of militancy, would look like a fight against religions.

A country like France now does two-thirds of its trade within the euro zone.

I think that we must come together progressively, with the British, the Germans, the Spanish, the Italians and with the new members of the European Union, we must make an effort to forge closer links.

I was a Member of the European Parliament for a period of time and I saw a lot of European laws and treaties.