LOVE STORY

FRANCE & GERMANY

Play based on document “A strong Europe in a world of uncertainties”

by Jean-Marc Ayrault and Frank-Walter Steinmeier

He - Germany

She - France

EU - family (mum, dad, kids)

SCRIPT

She: Oh, baby, we lost our kid

He: his decision marks a watershed moment in our family history. Our family is losing not only a kid, but our family’ history, tradition and experience...

She: oh, honey, what happened, why (s)he wanted to leave us?

He: he will regret this decision... 

She: what will we do, without him (her)? (s)he was so important, helped me with housework...

He: (s)he will entail consequences!

She: baby, don’t be so hard, please, let, at least me to stay in relationship with him (her)

He: my support and our passion for him (her) has faded...I won’t let him (her) and you as well, woman! Neither a simple call!

She: but, baby, I know you’re angry, can we find an adequate answer?

He: no, not for him (her). Now, we have to be more focused on the rest of our kids; we have to strictly focus our joints efforts on challenges to keep our other kids! Darling, you wouldn’t want other kids to leave our family, right?

She: yes, honey, you’re again right, like always…but…what shall we do?

He: I am convinced that they don't like the way our family functions. We are mum and dad. Only we know what is the best for our kids. We remain most firmly of the belief that our family provides a unique and indispensable framework for the pursuit of freedom, prosperity and security in a world of uncertainties. You, know, honey, our world is dangerous and we can provide peace and stability for our kids.

She: are you sure that only we can do that? What about others? I mean, grandpa, grandma, and kids? How can we make them to trust us and our decisions?

He: we are mum and dad! Have you forgotten it? We are authorities, we know what is the best for our kids! Two of us share a common destiny and a common set of values and we are right!

She: if you say so, darling...Sorry...I almost started to doubt in your decisions.

He: you see, baby, our kids differ in their levels of ambition when it comes to our family. We have to find better ways of dealing with their ambition so as to ensure that they stay in our family and listen to us.

She: what do you mean by that, what can we do promote our family as a more coherent and a more assertive then the rest of the world?

He: well, it's easy! To convince them that our family is better (safer) then the rest of the world we must make them focus on today’s main challenge – fear.

She: oh, yes, you're right, if we convince them that the rest of the world is extremly dangerous and our family is safe place to live in, they will always stay with us! Oh, honey, you're so smart. That's one of the reason I married you!

He: I love you to, baby...so, to ensure that our kids always listen to us and never leave us, we must convince them that their security is confronted with growing external and internal threats; we have to be nice with their refugee friends; feed them, make them grow, occupy them with jobs and advancing towards the completion of our family union.

She: What do you mean by „advancing towards the completion of our family union“, it's such complicated sentence, can you please explain me it in simple ways?

He: of, course, baby...you know that our kids have their own rules for plays and paying systems. They are growing and becoming more independent, so they don't listen to us always. They have their own pocket money, rules and that makes them independent. They are starting to think that they can live by themselves, without us. We have to convince them to give up of all that stuff like pocket money, tree house...you see, that stuff make them feel independent and then they are becoming rebellious...we have to convince them that it is safer for them to let us to decide for them, to protect them...

She: you mean, they will listen us more if we convince them that it's some dangerous somewhere there and they will let us decide for them what will they wear, where will they play, what will they eat etc..

He: yes, of course, then, they will listen to us more and will never want to leave our family and our house and we will be always surrounded with our obedient kids..and we will live happy all together!

She: You know what I saw? I saw our family being severely tested. It is challenged by a series of family illness. Our kids recover slowly from that disease...

He: I know there are no quick solutions to this very demanding illness. But we, parents, are determined to address them, we will work to deal with current challenges (rebellious kid leaving our home) while remaining focused on that long term disease...

She: that's great strategy...what steps do you propose?

He: first, we have to face them a deteriorating security environment and an unprecedented level of threat. We have them to realize that external crises have become more numerous, closer to our family both east and south of our house borders – and more likely to have immediate consequences for our family's territory and the security of our kids.

She: oh, I get it! The bogeyman threat is growing, feeding on complex networks in and outside our family and stemming from bogeyman zones and unstable, bogeyman-torn regions all over the world. Our family's role as a credible force for peace from bogeyman is more important than ever. The security of our kids is deeply interconnected, as these bogeyman threats now affect us all: any bogeyman threat to one of our kid is also a threat to others. We therefore regard our security as one and indivisible. We consider our family and the family security of bogeyman order to be part of our core interests and will safeguard our family members in any circumstances.

He: Yes, baby and in this context, we, mother and father, recommit to a shared vision of our family as a security union, based on solidarity and mutual assistance between our kids in support of common security of bogeyman and defence policy from bogeyman. Providing security from bogeyman for our family as well as contributing to peace and stability globally is at the heart of our big family project.

She: that sounds great! Just wondering...what if they realize that we invented bogeyman and it actually doesn’t exist? Or, what if they choose not to be scared anymore?

He: hm, I've never think about that..indeed, what could we do in that case?

She: well..we can always figure out better solution for our kids to stay with us...what do you say about setting an accent to love...we could empower them to be independent, to choose for themselves and to stay with us...what do you feel about it?

He: feel? You mean think?

She: no, I mean feel...you know, like when I met you..I didn't think..I folowed my heart...

He: hm...just rememberd… your french..kiss

She: yes..just reminded me… you always came precisely on time...

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