0:00:07.720,0:00:10.940
Under my presidency,[br]unemployment will go away.

0:00:12.280,0:00:15.480
Under my presidency,[br]there will be 10% growth per year.

0:00:16.440,0:00:20.950
Under my presidency, France[br]will lead the world's economy again.

0:00:23.440,0:00:24.920
That's the kind of promises

0:00:24.920,0:00:27.340
made by all those men and women

0:00:27.340,0:00:28.680
who run for presidency.

0:00:29.480,0:00:30.580
President!

0:00:30.840,0:00:33.240
That's the dream job

0:00:33.240,0:00:35.550
for all politicians, both men and women,

0:00:35.550,0:00:36.850
in our country.

0:00:37.320,0:00:40.440
But did they just look at the first word?

0:00:40.440,0:00:42.840
When you look closely,

0:00:42.840,0:00:46.600
the full title is "President [br]of the Republic".

0:00:47.400,0:00:52.520
People typically focus on "President"[br]and neglect the "Republic" side.

0:00:53.170,0:00:55.200
So what is a republic?

0:00:56.240,0:00:59.000
A republic is a flag,[br]and a national anthem,

0:00:59.490,0:01:00.960
but rest assured,

0:01:00.960,0:01:03.770
we're not here today[br]to learn "La Marseillaise".

0:01:03.770,0:01:05.560
What I'd like to talk about today

0:01:05.560,0:01:10.480
is the republican motto:[br]Freedom, equality, brotherhood.

0:01:11.080,0:01:14.320
It's a fascinating motto[br]that comes to us from the Enlightenment.

0:01:14.320,0:01:17.310
and today we'll try to assess[br]how well we implement it

0:01:17.310,0:01:18.120
after 200 years.

0:01:18.800,0:01:21.960
Brotherhood, equality, freedom.

0:01:23.280,0:01:24.740
Let's start with brotherhood.

0:01:25.200,0:01:27.370
What brotherhood are we talking about,

0:01:27.370,0:01:29.330
when in our country

0:01:29.330,0:01:33.240
more than nine million people[br]live under the poverty line,

0:01:34.160,0:01:38.000
in a country like ours,[br]which is the world's fifth economy?

0:01:39.560,0:01:40.560
Equality, then.

0:01:41.440,0:01:42.840
Where is the equality,

0:01:43.760,0:01:48.880
when the richest 10% makes[br]just as much as the remaining 90%?

0:01:50.080,0:01:51.240
Compared to this room,

0:01:52.040,0:01:54.240
and assuming there is[br]more or less 100 people,

0:01:54.240,0:01:56.840
and the only asset[br]in the room is the chairs?

0:01:57.160,0:01:59.980
It's like I said to the 10 people[br]in the first row:

0:01:59.980,0:02:02.120
"You are entitled to own 50 chairs",

0:02:02.120,0:02:03.720
and to the other 90,

0:02:03.730,0:02:06.310
"Get by with the remaining ones"

0:02:07.150,0:02:07.960
Nonsense.

0:02:09.520,0:02:11.120
Freedom, then.

0:02:12.140,0:02:13.480
What freedom is that,

0:02:13.920,0:02:16.390
when addressing our fundamental needs

0:02:16.840,0:02:18.720
takes forcing someone into find a job

0:02:19.480,0:02:22.520
in a market with more[br]than 9% of unemployment?

0:02:24.200,0:02:27.720
Brotherhood, equality, freedom.

0:02:28.920,0:02:31.800
You can sense the health status[br]of the republican motto

0:02:31.800,0:02:34.120
with a number: nine.

0:02:35.200,0:02:39.520
Nine like nine million people[br]under the poverty line.

0:02:40.360,0:02:43.400
Nine like the nine tenths of people

0:02:43.920,0:02:46.240
making as much as the richest tenth.

0:02:46.920,0:02:50.320
And nine, like 9%[br]of unemployment in our country.

0:02:51.760,0:02:55.800
The purpose of my talk, anyway,[br]is not putting you down.

0:02:55.800,0:02:58.520
Somehow, we will have to try[br]and find a solution.

0:02:59.120,0:03:02.560
What I'd like to talk to you about today[br]is the universal income.

0:03:03.320,0:03:05.600
So what is universal income?

0:03:06.440,0:03:11.880
Just to start, is a definition[br]with three criteria to match

0:03:11.880,0:03:14.320
so it can be properly defined:[br]"universal income".

0:03:14.320,0:03:16.520
A universal income is a sum of money

0:03:17.520,0:03:20.760
that's granted to everyone[br]on a monthly basis,

0:03:20.760,0:03:23.560
with no strings attached,[br]to each individual.

0:03:24.400,0:03:27.590
If this sum of money[br]is only granted to young people

0:03:27.590,0:03:30.320
or only to those who make[br]less than 2,000 euro per month,

0:03:30.320,0:03:32.120
that's not a universal income.

0:03:32.920,0:03:34.540
If we talk about a sum of money

0:03:34.540,0:03:37.280
that comes with the condition

0:03:37.280,0:03:40.110
of finding some kind of job,

0:03:40.110,0:03:41.920
that's not a universal income.

0:03:43.070,0:03:44.600
If that sum of money

0:03:44.600,0:03:47.740
is only granted[br]to a household, or a couple,

0:03:47.790,0:03:49.600
that's not a universal income.

0:03:50.070,0:03:51.840
These are the three needed criteria

0:03:51.840,0:03:54.760
in order to properly talk[br]about universal income.

0:03:56.040,0:04:00.440
With this definition in mind,[br]many questions may arise.

0:04:01.520,0:04:04.160
First question: why?

0:04:04.160,0:04:07.440
Why in the world one might want[br]to implement a universal income?

0:04:08.140,0:04:09.480
Essentially for two reasons.

0:04:10.120,0:04:12.720
One more "historical",[br]the other more contemporary.

0:04:13.860,0:04:15.480
The historical reason is,

0:04:15.480,0:04:18.000
because, truth be told,[br]even if current debates

0:04:18.000,0:04:21.600
present universal income[br]as a new idea,

0:04:22.440,0:04:25.080
it's actually been discussed[br]for many centuries now.

0:04:25.880,0:04:26.880
In history,

0:04:26.880,0:04:30.080
one of the first thinkers[br]to propose universal income

0:04:30.080,0:04:32.800
was Thomas Paine, in 18th century.

0:04:33.480,0:04:37.360
The idea was to fight poverty

0:04:37.360,0:04:40.720
and redistribute wealth[br]with a very simple idea:

0:04:40.720,0:04:43.580
the property of land, that we all share,

0:04:43.580,0:04:44.920
and belongs to everyone,

0:04:45.480,0:04:48.780
has been collected by the few.

0:04:48.780,0:04:51.800
Therefore, not everyone[br]has a piece of land

0:04:51.800,0:04:54.160
to address their basic needs.

0:04:54.720,0:04:56.160
Therefore, as a compensation,

0:04:56.680,0:05:00.000
he longed for the implementation[br]of a universal grant.

0:05:01.880,0:05:03.530
The most contemporary reason,

0:05:03.530,0:05:06.570
which is why the debate[br]is having a comeback now,

0:05:06.570,0:05:08.360
is that the universal income

0:05:08.360,0:05:13.280
could be a viable answer[br]to an ever changing job market.

0:05:14.480,0:05:17.520
We must be aware that[br]with automation and digitalization

0:05:18.230,0:05:20.280
a lot of jobs will disappear,

0:05:21.040,0:05:23.440
and others will be[br]created to replace them.

0:05:24.240,0:05:26.040
What no one is sure about today is,

0:05:26.040,0:05:28.200
will new jobs

0:05:28.200,0:05:30.620
outgrow the destroyed ones?

0:05:31.440,0:05:36.040
I'll go straight to the answer:

0:05:36.040,0:05:37.360
we do not know.

0:05:38.120,0:05:39.360
The only thing we know

0:05:40.080,0:05:43.010
is that today's new jobs

0:05:43.010,0:05:45.400
will be much less stable[br]than yesterday's ones.

0:05:45.400,0:05:48.650
In the past, an employee could remain[br]40 years in the same company;

0:05:48.650,0:05:52.320
today, not only you won't stay[br]in the same company for 40 years,

0:05:52.320,0:05:57.680
but over a single workday[br]several activities could be done.

0:05:58.040,0:06:00.480
Therefore, a universal income[br]would in a sense act

0:06:00.480,0:06:02.150
like a safety line

0:06:02.150,0:06:04.960
for a less linear job market.

0:06:06.380,0:06:07.880
First question: why?

0:06:08.440,0:06:11.080
And the second is: how much?

0:06:12.000,0:06:14.360
How high should this universal income be?

0:06:15.680,0:06:19.320
A lot of propositions[br]have been formulated.

0:06:19.920,0:06:21.340
But generally speaking,

0:06:21.340,0:06:25.640
the range goes from RSA,[br]a little more than 500 euro per month,

0:06:26.200,0:06:29.650
to SMIC, a little less[br]than 1,200 euro per month,

0:06:29.650,0:06:31.800
with the poverty line in-between.

0:06:33.120,0:06:35.200
The poverty line, in France,

0:06:35.200,0:06:38.680
it's 1,000 euro per month,[br]for a single person.

0:06:39.700,0:06:40.920
How do you measure that?

0:06:41.360,0:06:43.600
It's an international definition.

0:06:44.120,0:06:46.560
It's 60% of median income.

0:06:46.870,0:06:48.830
So what's the median income?

0:06:49.240,0:06:51.560
It's the income level[br]that splits people in two:

0:06:51.560,0:06:55.480
50% of people make more[br]than that, 50% less.

0:06:56.160,0:07:00.000
In France, median income is 1,666 euro.

0:07:00.480,0:07:03.800
And 60% of 1,666 euro, it's 1,000 euro.

0:07:04.640,0:07:07.730
Why is poverty calculated that way?

0:07:07.730,0:07:11.220
Because one is always poor[br]compared to where she lives.

0:07:11.220,0:07:13.270
It's easy to get[br]that 1,000 euros in France.

0:07:13.270,0:07:16.040
It can help you get by,[br]but its hardly a liveable income;

0:07:16.040,0:07:20.160
In a developing country, they'd make[br]a much bigger positive difference.

0:07:20.160,0:07:22.360
You could even be labeled as rich.

0:07:23.860,0:07:26.020
Why, then, and how much.

0:07:26.560,0:07:29.800
The third question you might ask is: how?

0:07:29.800,0:07:32.240
How to implement it? How to finance it?

0:07:33.000,0:07:35.190
There are three great funding families.

0:07:35.440,0:07:37.600
The first is self funding.

0:07:38.520,0:07:40.140
The idea is:

0:07:40.140,0:07:44.840
with a universal income[br]at the level of poverty line,

0:07:45.360,0:07:47.600
RSA has no reason to be.

0:07:47.600,0:07:51.840
So the amount currently allocated to RSA

0:07:52.440,0:07:55.760
could be diverted to universal income.

0:07:57.600,0:08:02.080
The second funding family[br]of universal income are taxes.

0:08:02.760,0:08:04.920
And taxes are often related

0:08:04.920,0:08:06.680
to the philosophical reason

0:08:06.680,0:08:09.600
why someone should implement[br]universal income.

0:08:10.320,0:08:11.800
If the policy goals

0:08:11.800,0:08:14.800
are fighting against povery[br]and sharing wealth,

0:08:14.800,0:08:19.640
we'd rather tax incomes or assets.

0:08:20.040,0:08:21.240
If instead the real goal

0:08:21.240,0:08:24.470
is coping with the shifts[br]in the labor market,

0:08:24.470,0:08:26.000
we'll probably end up taxing

0:08:26.000,0:08:29.480
companies and robots.

0:08:30.800,0:08:34.080
And the last source of funding[br]of universal income,

0:08:35.179,0:08:37.640
an almost neglected ones,[br]in public debates,

0:08:37.640,0:08:38.970
is monetary creation.

0:08:39.600,0:08:42.549
You must know that currently,[br]to boost the economy,

0:08:43.080,0:08:46.760
central banks create money out of thin air

0:08:46.760,0:08:48.640
and inject it into the system.

0:08:49.150,0:08:50.680
And we might well ask ourselves,

0:08:50.680,0:08:53.840
why give this money to private banks

0:08:54.480,0:08:57.930
instead of giving it directly to citizens?

0:08:58.960,0:09:02.040
The bottom line, with universal income,

0:09:02.720,0:09:06.200
is that's a broad concept[br]with different implementations.

0:09:07.360,0:09:11.050
My closest connections[br]call me "Mr Universal Income"

0:09:11.050,0:09:14.040
but actually, I don't appreciate[br]every possible flavour of it.

0:09:14.200,0:09:17.890
Universal income[br]is a concept I understand.

0:09:17.890,0:09:20.760
I agree with some of its implementations

0:09:20.800,0:09:23.760
and disagree with some other ones.

0:09:25.960,0:09:30.640
So we have a failing republican motto

0:09:32.520,0:09:36.000
and a broad, multifaceted concept.

0:09:36.920,0:09:40.480
What if we combined the two?

0:09:41.840,0:09:44.480
That would give us a R.E.V.E.[br](dream), our dream.

0:09:45.120,0:09:47.610
A dream we made with Romain,

0:09:47.610,0:09:50.060
with whom I founded the Ecolo-Humanists.

0:09:51.000,0:09:52.000
R.E.V.E [Dream]

0:09:52.520,0:09:56.320
stands for Emancipatory Income[br]to Express Ourselves in Life.

0:09:57.260,0:10:00.000
Let's reconsider the Republican Motto

0:10:01.000,0:10:02.440
so we can better defines

0:10:02.440,0:10:05.720
what our universal income[br]would ideally look like.

0:10:07.200,0:10:08.160
Brotherhood.

0:10:08.720,0:10:11.200
For us, an ideal universal income

0:10:11.920,0:10:14.560
would be set at the level[br]of the poverty line.

0:10:15.720,0:10:19.810
That would allow us, by the way,[br]to respect Article 25

0:10:19.810,0:10:22.280
of the Universal Declaration[br]of the Human Right.

0:10:22.400,0:10:23.440
This Article 25

0:10:23.440,0:10:26.040
of the Universal Declaration[br]of the Human Right

0:10:26.080,0:10:29.360
mandates that everyone[br]has a right to a standard of living

0:10:29.360,0:10:32.200
high enough to address[br]our fundamental needs:

0:10:32.800,0:10:37.120
food, shelter, and a roof over our head.

0:10:37.770,0:10:40.680
Universal Declaration[br]of Human Rights, Article 25.

0:10:41.400,0:10:45.120
We signed it long ago,[br]but we still fail to respect it

0:10:47.040,0:10:48.020
Equality.

0:10:48.800,0:10:52.680
For us, universal income[br]should be a redistribution tool

0:10:53.280,0:10:55.740
tied to a progressive taxation

0:10:55.740,0:10:58.080
in order to finance it.

0:10:58.080,0:11:00.800
We didn't say there will be[br]no simplification.

0:11:00.800,0:11:04.250
Some aids will forcibly disappear.

0:11:04.250,0:11:06.160
But often, in today's conversation,

0:11:06.160,0:11:09.120
universal income is only seen[br]as a simplification tool.

0:11:09.120,0:11:13.440
For us, it should also be[br]a redistribution tool.

0:11:14.960,0:11:15.960
And finally, freedom.

0:11:16.960,0:11:21.120
What freedom would give[br]this freedom, this universal income?

0:11:22.080,0:11:23.800
It would allow us to say no.

0:11:24.440,0:11:25.600
The ability to say no.

0:11:26.020,0:11:29.000
Which is fundamental,[br]in order to be masters of our own life.

0:11:30.190,0:11:35.400
Saying no could allow employees[br]to negotiate better working conditions,

0:11:35.840,0:11:37.040
and thus work better.

0:11:38.370,0:11:39.280
Likewise,

0:11:39.280,0:11:42.720
some may choose to work less

0:11:42.720,0:11:44.680
in moments of life when they'd rather

0:11:44.680,0:11:48.080
raise a baby, start a company.

0:11:49.030,0:11:51.480
Working less? Working better?

0:11:51.660,0:11:55.280
We could even start asking ourselves,[br]what can be called work?

0:11:55.880,0:11:59.600
That's why we've chosen[br]to illustrate freedom with bees.

0:12:00.320,0:12:02.360
Currently, if you consider a bee's worth,

0:12:02.360,0:12:08.200
and GDP as our single indicator[br]to meter the economy,

0:12:09.520,0:12:11.760
GDP gives bees no value

0:12:11.760,0:12:14.520
but the honey they make and we sell.

0:12:15.240,0:12:17.960
Whereas the true added value of bees

0:12:17.960,0:12:20.520
is their pollination,

0:12:20.520,0:12:24.000
that allows fruits and flowers to develop.

0:12:25.240,0:12:27.600
Likewise, speaking of human beings,

0:12:27.810,0:12:29.320
we could ask ourselves:

0:12:29.720,0:12:31.240
are we worthless

0:12:31.240,0:12:35.320
except for the monetary value[br]we create in a company?

0:12:35.920,0:12:38.390
Or perhaps, the added value that's created

0:12:38.390,0:12:40.850
isn't, just like for pollination,

0:12:40.850,0:12:42.680
all those social relationships of ours

0:12:42.680,0:12:46.080
that allow us to realise our potential,[br]and knit the fabric of society?

0:12:49.370,0:12:53.070
Our R.E.V.E. [dream], Emancipatory[br]Income to Express Ourselves in Life.

0:12:53.070,0:12:57.040
If there's a word[br]to remember, in this definition,

0:12:57.680,0:12:59.000
is the emancipatory side.

0:12:59.490,0:13:03.180
For us, the implementation[br]of this ideal universal income

0:13:03.180,0:13:05.040
would be a true paradigm shift.

0:13:05.720,0:13:09.480
We live in a society today[br]where we "make ends meet"

0:13:10.360,0:13:12.760
and those who are left behind are helped,

0:13:12.760,0:13:15.640
despite the a cost for them[br]of social stigma,

0:13:15.640,0:13:18.560
treated as they might be[br]like aided people.

0:13:20.070,0:13:22.360
With the introduction[br]of a universal income,

0:13:22.360,0:13:24.000
the game changes completely.

0:13:24.270,0:13:26.080
We could finally trust anyone,

0:13:26.680,0:13:28.960
and those who are better off

0:13:28.960,0:13:33.800
will fund their universal income,[br]or other peoples'/

0:13:35.320,0:13:36.850
You've got it now;

0:13:36.850,0:13:39.770
our dream, and hopefully[br]someday your dream also,

0:13:40.680,0:13:44.720
is give some reality[br]to the republican motto.

0:13:45.440,0:13:48.600
Freedom, equality, brotherhood.

0:13:49.600,0:13:52.120
And in that moment, only in that moment,

0:13:52.120,0:13:54.960
we can wrap up the speech by saying:

0:13:54.970,0:13:57.450
Long live the Republic,[br]and long live France!

0:13:57.960,0:14:01.020
(Applause)