Here is a translation of Zemmour’s Christmas message completed by malmesburyman here. He’s well worth following on Twitter. The video appears at the end.
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My dear countrymen, my friends:
Tonight, Christianity celebrates Christmas. But not only Christianity. For one need not be Christian to celebrate Christmas. It suffices to love the West in general, and France in particular.
Tonight, Christianity celebrates Christmas. But not only Christianity. For one need not be Christian to celebrate Christmas. It suffices to love the West in general, and France in particular.
The night of Christmas Eve begins the celebration of a civilization – ours – that has enlightened human history. A civilization that believes man is absolutely free, whatever his birth, his past, his environment, his path.
In the Christian world, liberty has a divine nature and must be protected as the most precious treasure.
A civilization that believes men are equal in dignity. Everyone, from the prostitute to the king, and all in between – the beggar, the rich man, the widow, the orphan, the soldier, the leper – are children of god and all are equal before him. No race, no class – a holy equality.
A civilization that believes the beautiful is also holy. The civilization of Rembrandt, da Vinci, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven. Paintings, sculptures, works of technical perfection and awesome depth.
The whole world admires western art. It is impossible not to be overwhelmed by the Pietà of Michelangelo.
A civilization that believes truth is neither theoretical nor relative but concrete, incarnated, and holy. To deny truth is to deny the Good. The lie is both the day-to-day and the eternal face of evil.
This infinite respect for truth has allowed the enormous rise of philosophy and exact science in the west.
A civilization that believes heaven on earth doesn’t exist and never will. A civilization that refuses to give credence to utopias and projects for a perfect society-communism, nazism-that destroyed the 20th century and threaten the 21st with a new and still more troubling face.
A civilization that opposes totalitarianism like day to night. A civilization that believes sweetness, tenderness, and love are superior to all other human conduct.
Knowing how to win in war is good and the Christian world must never refuse to make war when it is attacked. It must win the war, but knowing how to win the peace after victory is harder still.
To this idea, we owe the incomparably peaceful character of western societies when they are faithful to themselves.
Societies that have committed errors, mistakes, crimes: obviously, for it is built by men and all men are imperfect, egotistical, whether believers or not. But a civilization that must be considered the most evolved, sophisticated, creative, and tolerant the world has ever known.
France owes much to Catholicism, and the world owes much to French Catholicism. The long adventure of Catholicism in France is of an unequaled splendor.
St. Irenaeus of Lyon, Clovis, St. Louis, Joan of Arc, Thomas Aquinas who taught at the Sorbonne, Bossuet, Fénelon, Blaise Pascal, Thérèse of Lisieux, Paul Claudel, and so many others.
The eldest daughter of the Church has borne so many wonderful children, and our 86 cathedrals are the most beautiful of all – of which Victor Hugo made a beloved symbol across five continents.
General de Gaulle, in the greatest confidence, gave regular confession. His faith played a determinant role in the destiny of our country. Without the Cross, there would not have been a Cross of Lorraine.
And let us not forget the hundreds of millions of Christians – for it is hundreds of millions – being persecuted throughout the world as we speak.
Censored, threatened, tortured, assassinated: never in its long history has this religion been martyred in such dreadful silence. I solemnly swear that France will make their voice heard on the world stage.
Tonight, Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. But others – all others – in France can also celebrate Christmas. That is the purpose of Christmas trees, gifts, kisses, and wonderful smiles of children.
My name comes from ancient times, and means “olive tree” in Berber – the tree of peace. Tonight I wish that everyone will find peace – peace in each of us, and peace among us.
Christmas is the opposite of civil war. It is the reconciliation that shines in the night. The humble and moving Nativity, present in so many families, delivers its message through the centuries. The miracle returns every December 24 at midnight.
Dear countrymen, Merry Christmas. Long live the Republic, and above all, long live France.
Magnifique
I couldn’t have said it better.
Thank you, Dover.
Thank you DB. Stupendous. A big fan of Zemmour…perhaps it will take a Jew to save France from being swallowed by the Islamic menace.
It’s worth noting that Zemmour, a Berber Jew whose parents left North Africa, is very popular among Sephardic and Mizrachi Jews in France.
France was lost forever back in 1918. Allegedly victorious, but dead on her knees – and let’s not even mention the subsequent humiliation of 1940, oh – oops.
Although you could go back even further to 1871 and then two decades later to the Dreyfus imbroglio.
They have still somehow managed to be worthy contributors to Western culture in the meantime, often accidentally.
Some standouts:
The Birkin (Janey, not the handbag, although the latter is in there)
“Sacre Bleu*”, “Magnifique” and “Contretemps”
Brigitte Bardot
That series of epic art films in the sixties (a reference point, Alain Delon)
Their Rugby and Roundball teams
Their most famous resistance heroine, Yvette Carte-Blanche
They remain as pugnacious as ever, despite their utterly faded glory.
My favourite French saying (apart from “SB”): “You English Dergues” … 🙂
*A pisstake invented by the English, reflecting their bafflement at situations such as this regrettable incident … 😕
la Birkin …
Zemmour might need to read up in the Thirty YearsWar.
Balance that with The Terror, Derrida, Dada…
Diogenes – that was my entire point. I despise the French as much as anyone, but every now and then, la magie opère.
Anyone who claims to be French must surely be moved by his thoughts.
Hopefully a majority of all people in France take notice.
I did really like his line about lies.
It’s a little thoroughly solid rejection of wokeism and relativity.
The French, what little remains of them, are utterly unmoored from their heritage.
Terrorist massacres, assassinations and landmark destruction seems to be all they have left. For what they’ve inflicted on the West I’d happily see them suffer in spades (for many more decades), but condemning a peoples who’ve stepped up in the past to definitively defend Western Civilization (as they have) would be (yet another) squabble among confreres.
“Gens de travail, formidables”
Vive La France — let’s hope so — remembering that it was the elites who brought her to utter degraded blood lust and debauchery – thanks Robespierre for the Reign of Terror – and yet we have Victor Hugo’s Bishop talking about the guillotine and it’s monstrosity, observing–
indeed
Hoping Zemmour touches enough French hearts to change the outcome for France.
Unfortunately, Hugo’s bishop – like many today – was giving voice to sentiment, not clear thought based on the Bible’s teaching.
In principle, the state executes the wrongdoer by the right God granted the it to be his avenger against evil. Rom 13:4, John 19:11.
The French Revolutionaries abused that right in a terrible manner, but abuse does not constitute proper use and therefore does not negate proper use in principle. In other words, that certain states have abused the death penalty does not mean the death penalty is illegitimate.
Our Lord himself did not question the state’s right to execute criminals, but only the case the Jewish authorities brought against him.
But we’ve diverted from Mr. Zemmour’s message, which is quite extraordinary for the times.
If he is sincere, I wish him every success.
Zemmour has gotten his bit on the side up the duff. She’s a looker so that might be good for a few male votes.
Fortunately for him, the French believe the chains of marriage are too heavy to be carried by only two people.
This leaves me conflicted. I think he is the only person who can win against Macron. But he is a terrible example.
In the sense that the french would happily and unrestrainedly root the hair on a barber’s shop floor*.
Unlike various political hypocrites in the anglosphere, they don’t keep their infidelities a secret.
*To paraphrase a former Cultural Attache …
Rabz
I never said what you ascribed to me
The consensus of commentators is that Zemmour is the AstroTurf candidate who’ll stop Le Pen getting to the Second Round of voting.
I think his backers might be the same as Macron’s in 2017, the intention is to prevent a Populist Right Wing Government.
As far as getting his girlfriend upm then stick, how selfish is it to father a child in your late Sixties?
Pretty selfish, I’d say.
Thank you for your comment, insightful and expansive, much to think on.
Zemmour’s job is outflank the dud Le Pen.
Macron will win another term.