Speaker Papuashvili blames EU policies for protests, unrest in France

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has blamed European Union policies for the protests and violence in France, arguing that EU member states’ governments are failing to act in their own citizens’ national interests under pressure from Brussels.

Papuashvili said EU institutions were forcing member states to pursue policies contrary to their interests, including on migration and the economy, resulting in growing public dissatisfaction and declining trust in governments.

He claimed that public trust in the governments of Germany, France and other major European countries stood at around 10%, arguing that this discontent had manifested itself in violence on the streets of European cities.

“Ultimately, these policies have produced dissatisfied societies,” Papuashvili said, adding that the unrest reflected a  “civilisational abyss” towards which Brussels was leading Europe.

“The European Union is leading Europe to civilisational ruin. Our task, and the reason we are critical of the EU and Brussels, is to save Europe and preserve the civilisation we helped create,” Papuashvili said.

He added that Europe needed to be protected from the EU’s own leadership to prevent it from falling further into what he described as a civilisational abyss.