This memento grew out of my own reflections, sparked in part by an initiative from Pascal Canfin to create La Plateforme Progressiste, a space for imagining the future of France. While not directly connected, it led me to look back at earlier Night Thoughts such as the balance between local and global politics, the limits of numbers in guiding our future, and how technology is reshaping society. What follows is a personal memento of four principles that I believe could guide us forward: restoring dignity and fairness, living within the limits of our planet, building cooperation and peace, and fostering enlightened citizens in the digital age.
1. Restoring hope through dignity and fairness
To recover hope in an active nation that is fraternal and protective of freedoms, citizens must see beyond the present. They need to imagine a future. This requires a decent income, earned through legal activity, which allows people to plan and build their lives. It also gives meaning to life itself.
That implies a fairer redistribution of wealth. Resources must be channelled into productive rather than speculative activities. We also need stronger taxation of the most fortunate and tighter regulation of financial markets, especially those serving only speculative trade.
Fairness must also be considered globally. If work paid more equitably everywhere, migration pressure would decrease. Communities would become more stable and inequalities between nations would lessen. Demographic decline in parts of Europe is not only an economic challenge. It also shows a loss of confidence and a lack of hope. A strong social fabric, with access to healthcare, education, and equal opportunities, is essential to restore trust.
2. Living decently within the limits of our planet
For citizens in France, Europe, and across the world to live in decent conditions, we must act against climate change. We also need to reduce the impact of human activity on ecosystems.
This requires a just ecological transition. We must shift affordably to decarbonised energy and industry. Agriculture should respect the environment at every stage. Collective transport must be clean, affordable, and well connected. Safer infrastructures for soft mobility are needed in both cities and rural areas.
A healthier and more plant-based diet should be accessible in daily life. This includes prepared meals and school canteens. Consumption must become more reasoned and sustainable. Impulsive buying, fuelled by marketing and influence, should be discouraged. Shared use of goods must become more attractive.
Fairer global wealth distribution would also rebalance consumption. Western countries would reduce demand, while developing nations could reject harmful systems and lead climate action. Migration flows would also ease if communities were less threatened by environmental collapse.
3. Building cooperation for a humane, peaceful and independent future
Some challenges do not recognise borders. Climate, energy, health, defence, migration, and the global economy all require collective solutions.
At the European level, we must go further in creating a union strong enough to face other global powers. It should remain faithful to its cultural values of human rights, liberty, and respect for nature. The goal is not to impose these values on others. The aim is to defend them when they are attacked and to ensure Europe’s independence in a multipolar world.
For such a federation to foster belonging, it must rest on democratic legitimacy. Direct taxation and an elected parliament are needed. Member states must retain autonomy in local matters. Its founding principles should be humanity, freedom, and concord.
On the global stage, cooperation should rely on the United Nations and other representative bodies. Federative or alternative models may emerge depending on cultural and political realities. The essential point is that global problems need shared solutions. No nation can face them alone.
Peace is a central condition. Conflicts often arise from disputes over land or from the refusal to recognise certain peoples and nations. Every community must have the right to determine its own future. Creation, merging, or separation of states must be free from misinformation, coercion, or external domination. Defending this right is difficult, but it is essential if we are to escape endless cycles of conflict.
4. Enlightened citizens in the digital age
A society that is active, productive, and fraternal depends on citizens who reason, learn, and connect. Digital tools must support these goals thoughtfully and responsibly.
Research on social media, artificial intelligence, and other technologies shows the need for regulation. Limits must be set on age, time of use, and purpose. Young people need time and space to build independent thought. They must master core knowledge: language, reasoning, mathematics, environment, history, geography, civic understanding, and the economic, social, and emotional sciences.
Artificial intelligence and the digital economy affect education, work, politics, and democracy. Without rules, they encourage misinformation, surveillance, and job insecurity. With wise governance, they could strengthen knowledge, critical thinking, and democratic participation.
Closing thought
These four principles are not exhaustive. They provide a compass rooted in dignity, ecological responsibility, cooperation, and enlightenment. Migration, demographics, inequality, climate change, geopolitics, and digital transformation are all connected.
The choice is ours. We can drift in short-term interests, or we can shape a future founded on fairness, balance, and shared humanity