French President Emmanuel Macron believes there will be "a European civil war" and urged the EU to "renew its commitment to democracy" in an impassioned speech in Strasbourg.
In his speech, Macron stressed how important it was to remember and learn from our past, and how we should not be content to "belong to a generation of sleepwalkers."
The EU's migrating crisis brought a large populist vote to states like Hungary and Italy, according to the BBC. French voters, on the other hand, largly stayed away from the polls–with turnout at less than 50%.
Macron also condemned what he views as Europe's "fascination with the illiberal." He reinforced his desire to "belong to a generation that will defend European sovereignty because we fought to obtain it."
Macron also proposed "a new European fund to help communities that take in migrants," saying that his beloved France "would be willing to pay more into the EU budget to fill the gap."
That would be the gap left by the aftermath of Brexit.
Macron hopes that his speech will spark debate among voters, and bring them back into discussion with the European Union.
But if Macron wants to see his hopes become reality, he will need to put a lot of work into his 2019 election which is fast approaching. At this point in time, Macron's party, the La Republique En Marche (LREM) does not belong to any main group within the European Parliament.
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