Breaking the Cycle of Violence in Our Societies

Never since the Second World War has the world experienced so many armed conflicts. In 2023, 59 conflicts were recorded, according to the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), and no continent has been spared. But violence is not limited to the battlefield: there are also lawless economic and trade wars, heightened political and social tensions, environmental and migration crises… We are witnessing a fragmentation of the world and a profound challenge to multilateralism. This instability threatens to trigger a major, unmanageable global economic and financial crisis, as conflicts now combine cutting-edge technologies with traditional forms of warfare.

Yet, the worst is never inevitable. Faced with this urgency, what major shifts must we make at the global, European, and French levels to avoid chaos? How can we respond to the economic, social, and environmental challenges such as stalled productivity gains, demographic aging, soaring inequality, and the lack of funding for our strategic investments? What structural transformations should we undertake to restore stability and prosperity?