The former President of SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, met with the former President of France Francois Hollande, as well as the economists Thomas Piketty and Gabriel Zucman.

Alexis Tsipras is in Paris to participate in the Political Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which will focus on the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, the Western Balkans and immigration.

In a post, the former president of SYRIZA states that the major challenges facing Europe, its inability to play a decisive role in geopolitical developments, and the danger of the Far Right were at the center of the discussions with Francois Okand.

The full post by Alexis Tsipras:

Taking the opportunity of my presence in Paris for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, I met yesterday and today with old friends as well as with future protagonists.
With François Hollande, I exchanged views on the major challenges facing Europe, its inability to play a decisive role in geopolitical developments, the security crisis, the increase in inequalities and the climate crisis.
We talked at length about the danger of the Far Right, the possibility of Le Pen being elected in France, but also about the need for progressive forces to unite to prevent it.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting again with another friend whose books are a benchmark of modern progressive thought, Thomas Piketty. And obviously the subject of our discussion was the widening of inequalities on a global and European scale, especially after the pandemic.
And the crucial issue: How a left-wing government can promote reforms that will contribute to the redistribution of wealth and enable the reconstruction of the welfare state, given the fiscal constraints of a country with a very high debt like Greece.
A critical quest that we agreed to pursue in depth.
At the same time, I had the opportunity to meet several future protagonists.
I had the opportunity to speak with representatives of civil society and activists at the forum ‘Académie des Futurs Leaders’, a platform to support progressive ‘leaders of the future’.
Young people who are active: in the fight for women’s and LGBT+ rights, in the anti-racism movement, in the trade union space, in the protection of refugee and immigrant rights, in tackling the climate crisis as well as in the field of political strategy in progressive parties.
In this context, I spoke about my personal experience of participating in the movements against neoliberal globalization for another “social Europe”, and then, in the governance of Greece. We exchanged views on the fight we must wage in every social, economic and cultural field against the effort of the forces of the Far Right to impose their hegemony.