Ordinary Europeans have joined their voices to the “Movement of Nantes” and want to be Greek out of solidarity with the citizens of the debt-ridden country. Thousands apply for Greek citizenship as a sign of sympathy and solidarity. Internet users from member countries of the EU started the “Movement of Nantes” in order to express their support to Greeks during the difficult times of the economic crisis. They submit their applications to local consulates and embassies of Greece across Europe and require Greek citizenship.

The website “jesuisgrec.blogspot.com “published a manifesto with title “The Appeal of Nantes” and slogan “I’m Greek”. Taking its name from the French city of Nantes, where the intitiative was launch, the French activists’ solidarity action with Greeks write in their manifesto:
“We are outraged by the indignity to subject the Greek people. Angered by the cowardice and lack of vision of Western governments against the dictatorship of money and infuriated by the indignity to which is currently subject to the Greek people, shamelessly accused of profligacy and fraud, collectively indicated is as guilty without being able to self-defence, doomed to an endless austerity and penance in terms reminiscent of the ratio of Marshal Petain in 1940 for the moral order.

Do not forget that those who now sacrifice to Greece for the sake of speculation, pretending hope that economic fascism will be satisfied with this small country and that they will escape.”
The French activists demand double nationality and support for Greeks also in an effort to oppose “the dictatorship of the financial markets”. They write that they are disgusted by the current humiliations imposed on the Greek people, shamefully accused of excess and dishonesty, pronounced guilty without being allowed a defence, condemned to endless austerity and penitent contrition. They want to send a clear signal and show zero tolerance towards the financial regime imposed on Greece.

We wish
to express our solidarity with Greece, and to share, at least
symbolically, the fate of its people.”
The “Be Greek” initiative has been set up upon a proposal from N.e.u.f. cultural association (“Nantes Est Une Fête! “). According to Greek press, citizenship applications arrive to Greece diplomatic representations abroad from many European countries and citizens who “fell Greek at heart”.

For those interesting in participating in the action, they can copy paste the form below, fill it up and send it to Greece embassies and consulates:

“Your excellency, in solidarity with your country, I, the undersigned………….. request personally to be counted at heart a Greek, to enjoy the rights and duties of dual nationality, and to express this international citizenship with a view to the establishment of universal democracy in liberty and equality, twenty-five centuries after the time of Solon, Clisthene, and Pericles. Thanks in advance for your response, and in fraternity with your people. ”

My name, town and country of residence follow, along with my profession and other relevant personal information (blogger, musician, father, student, Hellenist, age, etc.): FAMILY NAME, First name………… Town……….. Country of residence……. Profession and other personal information…………….. “
Where to send it ? In France send a letter to l’Ambassade de Grèce, République Hellénique, 17 rue Auguste-Vacquerie, 75116 Paris (Telephone : 01 47 23 72 28, Fax : 01 47 23 73 85 ).
Copy and paste this text, or write a personalised letter to the embassy.

"We are all Greeks" day
A day with a Greek overtone today throughout Europe as thousands of citizens of the continent, armed with the slogan “We are all Greeks” mobilize hugely in support and solidarity to the Greeks.

The pan-European call is addressed to all Western Europe citizens in response to the economic crisis and acute problems facing the Greek community.

The protest is scheduled to take place at 14:00 outside the Greek embassies and consulates in various cities from Paris to Rome and Dusseldorf to Madrid.

A similar mobilization has been planned in New York in Zuccotti park in which members of the Occupy New York movement have been camped for months.

Social networks with the slogan “We are all Greeks” indicate that the measures passed on Sunday February 12th are imposing major reductions in salaries and pensions while dismissals of civil servants are also planned.

“The Greek people need international solidarity and call for our support. Let’s answer their call. We are all Greeks!”, states the announcement.

The initiative was launched in France, when people asked to be given Greek citizenship by the Greek Embassy with the slogan “I am Greek”.

Specifically, the website jesuisgrec.blogspot.com, thousands of Europeans sign the text of solidarity with Greeks and request Greek citizenship, wishing to indicate their support.

On the same site, there is also a poster that invokes Delacroix’s authority. It is the known painting “Liberty leads the people”, in which the message now appears: “Solidarity with Greece”.


Nous sommes tous Grecs!- Le Monde

17.06.11

On nous dit que la Grèce a vécu au-dessus de ses moyens grâce à l’euro, que les statistiques étaient fausses, que l’état grec ne luttait pas contre la fraude fiscale et n’avait pas opéré les réformes nécessaires pour avoir un État compétitif et bien géré, qu’il avait laissé filer le déficit et la dette. Et cela quel que soit la couleur de la majorité gouvernante, le socialiste Papandréou ou le chrétien démocrate Caramanlis, l’important était de se faire élire et réélire. Les voix se lèvent pour dire que la Grèce n’a que les conséquences de son inconséquence et prônent, à juste titre dans l’absolu, une attitude rigoureuse vis-à-vis de ce pays. Mais est-ce si simple et si réaliste ? La Grèce est-elle seule dans ce cas ?

Malheureusement non ! Les pays communément appelés PIGS (Portugal, Irlande, Grèce, Spain) sont dans la même situation même si seules l’Irlande et la Grèce ont défrayé la chronique. Mais il faut y rajouter l’Italie puis la France dont on parle moins, car la taille de leur économie les préserve encore. Mais pour ne prendre que la France, nos gouvernements successifs, de droite ou de gauche ont-ils été plus responsables que les grecs. Il est permis d’en douter.

Depuis trente ans nous n’avons pas eu un seul budget réalisé en équilibre. La dette publique a augmenté de 1 500 milliards soit 66 % du PIB pour atteindre plus de 80 % de tout ce que nous produisons chaque année ou 6 années de prélèvements fiscaux ! Quelle entreprise pourrait se permettre un tel endettement sans être mise sous administration judiciaire ? En effet, comme les gouvernements grecs, nos gouvernements de gauche et de droite ont :

— augmenté de plus de 20 % le nombre de fonctionnaires tandis que les prestations ne cessaient de se détériorer : éducation, logement, ordre public, santé, justice,

— instauré l’instabilité, pour ne pas dire l’activisme, législative et fiscale en règle de gouvernement

— multiplié les assistances et droits sociaux, RMI/RSA, 5e semaine de congés payés, 35 heures,

— repoussé sans cesse les nécessaires réformes par crainte d’un effet négatif sur une de nos nombreuses élections, présidentielles, législatives, européennes, régionales, cantonales : réformes administratives, hospitalière, fiscale, etc.,

— laissé filer les salaires et avantages sociaux de la fonction publique dont les salaires moyens sont de 20 % supérieurs à ceux du privé.

— fait une fausse réforme des régimes spéciaux de retraites et des fonctions publiques sans les aligner sur le régime général,

— multiplié les niches fiscales et sociales par clientélisme sans jamais en analyser leur efficience économique et leur justice ; elles atteignent plus de 150 milliards,

— etc.

Le résultat est un déficit budgétaire de 8 % du PIB (ou près de 20 % des prélèvements fiscaux et sociaux) ! Ce déficit va être augmenté par les mesures prises pour aider la Grèce et les pays dits périphériques, 14 milliards à ce jour.

Notre Président se démène pour gagner du temps, mais nous ne pourrons éviter une certaine forme de restructurations des dettes et non seulement des dettes grecques, avec participation des investisseurs privés. En effet cette participation est équitable dans la mesure où ces investisseurs exigent des taux d’intérêt correspondant à un haut risque alors que les gouvernements couvrent ce risque par crainte des effets systémiques.

Mais il serait urgent que non seulement les pays périphériques opèrent leurs nécessaires réformes pour réduire les faiblesses de l’euro, mais aussi les autres pays comme l’Italie et la France. Plus tôt ces réformes seront entreprises et plus résistante sera notre économie à ces turbulences qui ne manqueront pas de se produire. Ce n’est qu’une question de temps. Il n’est pas sûr que ce temps corresponde avec celui des élections présidentielles. C’est pourquoi il était indispensable que 2011 soit une année utile en matière de réformes. Cette année est bien engagée, mais aucune réforme de fond ne se pointe à l’horizon. Il est toujours moins douloureux de faire ces réformes à froid que dans l’urgence des marchés. Les Grecs le constatent à leurs dépens. Espérons que nos gouvernants auront le courage suffisant pour éviter cette même situation à leurs concitoyens ! Nous sommes tous grecs pour devoir accepter les réformes qui s’imposent pour cesser de vivre au-dessus de nos moyens.


Advertising spot and international solidarity give courage to the Greeks



In the difficult times of continuously deepening recession and minus values of sense of security and optimism, an advertising spot shown on television a few days ago is quite surprisingly calling the Greeks not to surrender to negative feelings but to keep walking.

"When you walk through a storm hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone."

The creators chose the song "You'll never walk alone" as a backing to the advertising spot. It is part of the world famous brands of whiskey the slogan of which "Keep walking" strives to inspire people to combine their personal development with the common progress.

[YOUTUBE]0qgcLJjrYSY[/YOUTUBE]

GRReporter contacted one of the directors of the advertising spot, which the majority of Greek society perceives as moral support.

"We decided to make something that has never been made in Greece before. Without setting deadlines, to go out on the street with a camera and a small team and film what is happening there. Of course, since this is not a movie, we had to ask the people we were filming if they agreed to appear in the spot. And we filmed. When we liked something, we asked the permission of the "characters". If they disagreed or we could not find them, we just rejected the material. That is why it took so long. Typically, such work takes three days, and this project took between 20-25 days. We informed about the events in Athens, where and when they took place, etc. I call this project “documercial”, because in practice, it was like filming a documentary the only difference being that every time after the shooting, we had to ask the people whether they would like to be shown," said Harris Patramanis.

"80-90 per cent of the people in the advertising spot were caught by the camera accidentally, and generally, there is nothing staged. The staging was: no staging."

In his opinion, the result has come up to the initial plans. "We were looking for positive people. This is something that is no longer common because of the worsening economic situation. However, we found people who were smiling and optimistic. We have many frames we could not include due to the limited duration of the advertising spot. In practice, we have four times the material used. This means that there are still optimistic people out there and this is very good."

At the same time, on Saturday, the citizens in many European cities and New York are preparing to shout out together "We are all Greeks now" in protest against the economic crisis and the problems it causes Greek society.

The initiative was launched by French citizens in the social media. They state in their Facebook page, that Greece is being used as a laboratory before spreading these measures across Europe. The Greek people need international solidarity and they are calling for our support. Let us reply to their call. We are all Greeks now."

On a website with a similar name, Europeans are signing a text in support of Greece, saying that they want to obtain Greek citizenship. The initiative began in France, where a group of citizens went to the Greek Embassy with this request and the slogan "I'm Greek too."

Tomorrow at 2 pm, there will be protests in Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium. They will gather in squares and in front of diplomatic missions of Greece. In New York, the meeting in support of Greece will be held in Liberty Park Plaza near the financial centre of Wall Street at 9 pm Greek time. The park is the place where the members of the movement Occupy Wall Street met for many days several months ago.

At a meeting held earlier today in Berlin, protesters raised slogans with which the Greeks apologized for the actions of their government.

Even the mayor of the Italian town of Cava de Rireni became part of the movement in support of Greece. In a letter addressed to the prime ministers of Greece and Italy, Lucas Papademos and Mario Monti, to the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz he said that he will give his salary to support the country financially.

"Europe is under pressure and abandoning Greece at this time will mean a final rejection of the European idea, the only idea that we love and desire," he wrote, adding that his action is symbolic.

Mario Galdi, who urged other European citizens and politicians to follow his example, is a professor of law at the University of Salerno and his salary as a mayor is 1,100 euro.

People are asking for Greek citizenship in solidarity to the Greeks for months, but now it's getting more intense so if you have any more articles on the issue please post the links, I'd like to read as many as possible.