Dominique de Buman was received by the president of the National Assembly, François de Rugy (La République en Marche/Loire-Atlantique) on Thursday, 12 July, in the presence of Deputy Marion Lenne (La République en Marche/Haute-Savoie), the president of the National Assembly’s Franco-Swiss Friendship Group and Joachim Son-Forget, deputy for French nationals resident in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. During the meeting, François de Rugy emphasised the excellent relations between Switzerland and France as well as the progress made in terms of cross-border cooperation. On that subject, Marion Lenne added that the framework agreement on cross-border healthcare cooperation with France should be ratified in due course, even though the ‘lightening visit’ of February has not yet officially ended. The two presidents then had a long discussion on challenges regarding the European Union. Dominique de Buman reassured his counterpart about Switzerland’s intentions towards the EU and its wish to reach a solution in the near future. Mr de Buman also stressed the importance of the role of parliamentary diplomacy and highlighted the admirable work conducted by the two parliaments in that respect, particularly the work of the standing delegations to international and inter-parliamentary organisations. Dominique de Buman was also able to visit the library of the National Assembly accompanied by its curator and was even able to browse through two notebooks belonging to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as well as the original of the Tennis Court Oath, a key document in the French Revolution.
Dominique de Buman later met with Gérard Larcher (Les Républicains/Yvelines), president of the French Senate, who was accompanied by Ronan Le Gleut (Les Républicains), senator representing French nationals resident abroad and president of the Senate’s Franco-Swiss Friendship Group, as well as Jérôme Durin, vice president of the Group (Saône-et-Loire/Socialist and Republican Group). During that meeting, Mr de Buman took the opportunity to explain the workings of Switzerland’s political system and reassure those present of Switzerland’s wish to find an acceptable solution regarding its policy towards the EU; this was welcomed by Gérard Larcher. Dominique de Buman also drew Mr Larcher’s attention to the framework agreement on cross-border healthcare cooperation with France, which should come before the Senate shortly, and of the importance of a swift ratification. Gérard Larcher reassured Mr de Buman, explaining that an accelerated procedure could be applied and that the dossier remained a priority. Lastly, after having addressed the role of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) and the next summit in Yerevan, Dominique de Buman regretted rumours of French government budget cuts to the broadcaster TV5 Monde. He recalled the vital role played by the broadcaster in disseminating Francophone culture and values through its quality programming. Gérard Larcher promised Dominique de Buman that he would pass on his concerns to the president of the relevant committee, Catherine Morin-Desailly (Seine-Maritime / Groupe Union Centriste).
Mr de Buman then met with the secretary general of the OIF, Michaëlle Jean, who welcomed Switzerland’s consistent and valuable contribution to the organisation. Dominique de Buman recalled the extremely close ties between language and culture and stressed that the OIF, whose services have been much in demand since 2015, had faced major challenges, particularly regarding competition from certain UN bodies. Ms Michaëlle Jean, for her part, stressed that Switzerland is a multicultural country with a strong connection to the French language. Ms Maury Pasquier welcomed the OIF’s new strategy on gender equality due to be adopted at the summit in Yerevan, Armenia, in October, and said she looked forward to reading about the results of the summit.
Later in the day, the president of the National Council went to the Swiss embassy where he gave a speech to mark Switzerland’s National Day. The embassy reception traditionally takes place prior to French National Day. During his speech Mr de Buman cited the excellent relations between Switzerland and France. (link to FB live / link to speech)
The 13 July began with a visit to the offices of TV5Monde. Switzerland contributes around EUR 8 million to the channel’s annual budget. That amount is covered evenly between the federal government and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Once there Mr de Buman met the director general, Yves Bigot. The issue of possible budget cuts and the constant pressure faced by the channel were also addressed. Mr de Buman spoke of the important role played by France for La Francophonie and invited the director general to reflect on how France as the major financial contributor can best explain the challenges and impact resulting from possible budget cuts to those likely to be affected. Taking advantage of his visit to TV5 Monde, Dominique de Buman gave an interview for the programme ‘64 minutes’ in which he reiterated Switzerland’s wish to find solutions with the European Union and explained the workings of the Swiss parliament (link to video).
The programme continued with a meeting with Audrey Azoulay, director general of UNESCO where the focus was on Switzerland’s candidacy for a seat on the organisation’s Executive Board in 2019. Switzerland previously held a seat on the Board from 2003 to 2009. The president of the National Council stressed Switzerland’s experience in defending Switzerland’s cultural heritage (material and immaterial) as well as its multicultural qualities. Together they discussed the numerous plans launched by the director general to modernise the Organisation and the role of the USA which has announced its withdrawal from UNESCO as of the end of October.
On 14 July Dominique de Buman attended the French National Day parade at the invitation of the French authorities. Following the parade, Mr de Buman exchanged a few words with President Emmanuel Macron.