On Saturday, February 22, 2025, the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran hosted a conference to commemorate International Women’s Day (IWD2025). The event gathered distinguished political leaders, human rights advocates, and supporters of the Iranian Resistance from over 80 countries.
Michèle Alliot-Marie was the first woman in France to hold the portfolios of Defense (2002–2007), the Interior (2007–2009), and Foreign Affairs (2010–2011). She has also served as Minister for Youth and Sports (1993–1995) and Justice (2009–2010), and was granted the honorary rank of Minister of State during her last two appointments.
A close friend of the Iranian Resistance and Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, Ms. Alliot-Marie delivered a speech at the IWD2025 event in Paris, the text of which is presented below.
Michèle Alliot-Marie: We want a world where equality and freedom are not privileges
Thank you, thank you for your warm welcome.
Madam President, dear Maryam Rajavi, distinguished ministers, esteemed presidents, ladies and gentlemen, and especially dear friends, it is always a great pleasure to be here with you, and to gather once again for this International Women’s Day (IWD2025).
A Grateful Acknowledgment
But first, how could I not express our gratitude, dear Maryam Rajavi, for your magnificent speech?
It was truly a speech that deeply moved us, touched us at the core, and at the same time, it was a discourse full of vision and intellectual elevation, which is so essential in today’s international political landscape.
Indeed, I believe that you demonstrate how politics should be done: it is about having a vision, a philosophy not only for managing the state, but also for life itself—a philosophy that brings people together towards the noblest word of all: peace.
Thank you, dear Madam Rajavi, for such a beautiful speech.
Celebrating Women’s Talents and Contributions
Ladies and gentlemen, yes, this Women’s Day, we wish it could be celebrated every day.
But it is a wonderful opportunity for us. It is a great opportunity to celebrate the talents of women, talents that are sometimes overlooked.
Talents that I see here among you, ladies, who, through your diverse roles, continually demonstrate vision, the will to act, which guides each of us when we are entrusted with responsibilities.
We do not act for ourselves; we act for others, we act for other countries, we act for people around the world.
Solidarity and Responsibility
This International Women’s Day (IWD2025) is also a day for women’s rights, and an opportunity for us—those of us, ladies, who are fortunate enough to live in countries and circumstances where we can express ourselves, where we can voice our thoughts and enjoy freedom—an opportunity to express our solidarity with those who are not as fortunate as we are.
It is also an opportunity for us to feel the weight of the responsibility that rests on our shoulders, because the privilege we have, we owe it also to those who fight every day for freedom, for democracy, for the recognition of equality between men and women.
Action and Advocacy for Freedom and Equality
So, this International Women’s Day is also a day for action.
It is a day that celebrates action for freedom, a day that celebrates action for equality between men and women, a day that celebrates democracy, a day that celebrates the peace that we all want here.
And this action, this daily struggle, is also yours, dear Maryam Rajavi, the one you have led for years, the one you lead every day, with such talent, such determination, such a will to overcome all difficulties, because you know there is no greater message, no greater action, than the one that transcends us, that goes beyond each of us individually, and allows us to serve all those who need us around the world.
The Iranian Struggle: Women and Men in Resistance
This action, this struggle, belongs to the Iranian women and men who cry out “Women, Resistance, Freedom,” who not only cry it but live it, because they cry it at the risk of their lives, at the risk of their freedom, at the risk of their physical integrity.
Yes, this is what we celebrate today, ladies, dear friends. It is not simply, as you so rightly said, dear Maryam, a fight against misogyny.
It is much more than that. It is a cultural struggle, it is a political struggle in the most noble sense of the word, the kind of politics that is too often forgotten.
Facing Discrimination in Iran
In Iran, discrimination against women is enshrined in the constitution and in the law. And I know I am speaking here to distinguished legal experts who understand what this means.
It means one thing: it will remain as it is until the regime changes.
And to change a regime, it is not through weapons, but through politics and cultural transformation that we can achieve it—first and foremost, through politics.
The Growing Resistance Against the Regime
More and more women and men in Iran are demonstrating their opposition to the current regime, at the risk of their lives, as we have seen and as you reminded us, but outside of Iran as well, more and more men and women are supporting them in their struggle.
And I must say today that more and more governments, particularly from our Western nations, need to move beyond the level of well-intentioned words, carefully phrased in their speeches, and take more concrete action to truly defend these values that are yours, that are ours, all together.
Iran: A Nation at a Crossroads
Iran, as I have always said, is a great country, a great people, who can contribute significantly to the stability of the region. And a region that increasingly needs it, as we have seen in recent months and weeks.
Unfortunately, its current regime remains a threat—a threat to that stability, a threat to peace, because, let us not forget, and it is increasingly recognized, the current regime is a sponsor of terrorism that is spreading worldwide, across the region, and even here. We have had proof of this, and both French and Belgian courts have recognized it as well.
And this is a threat that destabilizes not only the region but the entire world.
The Nuclear Threat and the Path Forward
What concerns me most, as a former Minister of Defense and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, is seeing this great country—or more precisely, its government, let us not confuse the two—violating the agreements it itself has signed, including those related to nuclear proliferation, which remains the greatest danger for the planet and for all life.
Today, it is creating stocks of enriched uranium that are thirty times above the allowed limit. This is not something I am saying, not something the opposition is saying, this is from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Thirty times above the limit, and they will try to explain that there are no military concerns behind this behavior—this is absolutely impossible to believe.
A Call to Action: A Change of Regime
So, we clearly see today that it is important to act. The President of the French Republic himself has called the current regime the greatest strategic and security challenge in the world.
The return to stability, the return to peace, the return to a better and safer future, certainly requires a change of regime.
But let us be clear, and I want to emphasize this in the current context, this change can only come from within. It can only come from the Iranian people.
It can only come from those who truly believe in freedom, in democracy, in the separation of religion and state, in the equality between men and women, in the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, in the protection of minorities, whether religious or ethnic.
That is the reality—it can only come from within. But we can increasingly believe that this will happen soon, and we all need it, the world needs it. And that is exactly what you have written in your program, dear Maryam Radjavi, and in this magnificent speech. Thank you, thank you for what you do, thank you for who you are.
