Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, like other Members from the region, I was in Toulouse at the time of the explosion. Since then, I have met with several employees, residents and friends who have been affected by this disaster. I wish to point out that when we talk about suffering, trauma and shock, we are talking about men and women whose lives have been deeply wounded and their anger is in proportion to this shock. I wish to pay tribute to the memory of the victims and also to the local authority workers, the emergency and medical teams, the Electricité de France employees and all the men and women who, with their skills and goodwill, gave their energies to serve the general interest. It is also at times like this that we rediscover the importance of public services and their staff as a tool for serving the general interest. Many political leaders have spoken of the absurdity of locating this type of chemical plant near to large urban centres. It is worth making the point that wherever this type of industry is located, there are men and women working. In a far-off desert or in the centre of Brussels, if the factory blows up, scores of workers will lose their lives. The first question we should address is that of making these industries as safe as possible. Admittedly, the debate on the location of sites has been opened, but this aspect cannot be considered unless there are major improvements in inspection and safety conditions. The entire situation has changed. It is my view that the Seveso directives need to be reviewed. Let us use what we learn from this disaster to improve regulations on safety and on respecting the environment. We must come up with new, much more restrictive regulations on the way these plants are run and, above all, on the resources available to inspection bodies. By way of anecdote, a terrifying one, the inspection body responsible for the Midi-Pyrénées region has 17 inspectors to inspect over 2000 companies. Amongst the first factors thrown up by the investigation, I know that the investigation is not over, but nevertheless, there are many indications that the company’s management took a rather irresponsible approach to risk management. We must draw the obvious conclusions from that. Following the disaster, we are discovering serious safety lapses in the chemical industry in other parts of the country. This review process must be undertaken in tandem with a mission whose work is open to the whole of Europe and which has the task of carrying out an assessment of European safety. Inspection bodies must publish their results. The investigation in Toulouse must be transparent and must involve employees and local residents. I therefore call on Parliament to state its support for an exceptional risk assessment procedure in Europe and to review the directives. Toulouse is today a city in shock, in terms of the physical environment, psychologically and in terms of the direct and indirect consequences for employment and for businesses located near the site. Toulouse needs financial and logistical aid. The Union must demonstrate its capacity for solidarity at times of crisis. Will this require exceptional emergency funds? I am not sure, but the European Commission could, for example, contact the city, the département and the region to sound out their logistical needs. In this situation, the mobilisation of European engineers and support teams could, in symbolic terms as well as being effective, demonstrate the commitment of the European Union. ‘Never again!’ ‘Never again!’ is what tens of thousands of Toulouse’s citizens are shouting and calling for. ‘Never again!’ was what the communities affected by the oil slick from the Erika shipwreck, demanded. Once again, the approach of profit, job cuts and investment has led to a lapse in safety and has caused an ecological and human disaster. In order to confront this, we need further public regulation, more rules on inspection and more resources. We know that people are initially angry with the company’s bosses, but they will turn on us next and this fury will be unleashed on us, the political leaders. And they would be right to do so. Our task is to produce rules that benefit the community, not to bow down to the dominance of private interests.

Political group: GUE-NGL