On Sunday 14 September 2025, MR President Georges-Louis Bouchez brought together more than 8,000 members at Walibi park for the Estivales, the event marking our party's political relaunch.
Before a record gathering, he praised the loyalty, energy and trust of activists, affirming that the spirit of reform and unity drives every action of the MR.
The day was crowned by the unexpected appearance of Prime Minister Bart De Wever, a surprise guest, who came to share the common ambition of reforming Belgium in depth. Through his address and the MR's support for the government's key measures (from economic recovery to the modernisation of security, as well as the defence of fundamental freedoms and the social model) Georges-Louis Bouchez underlined the importance of concrete action and the rejection of fatalism.
Georges-Louis Bouchez closed the MR's Estivales in Walibi with an energetic and unifying speech, praising the exceptional turnout of 8,000 members who came with their families.
True to his reformist line, the MR President stressed the need for a “moment of truth” for Belgium, recalling that defending purchasing power, controlling taxation and modernising the state lie at the heart of his commitment. He reaffirmed the MR's promise: no tax increases, but structural reforms to restore competitiveness to businesses and guarantee greater freedom for everyone.
In a festive and dynamic atmosphere, Georges-Louis Bouchez also highlighted the work accomplished in recent months alongside the government, notably on unemployment reform, the revival of nuclear energy, and the tightening of rules on immigration and social assistance. He urged members not to give up in the face of the challenges still ahead, encouraging unity and tenacity to get through the next stages and protect Belgium's future, while cherishing the family and togetherness spirit unique to the Estivales.
Watch his speech here
Thank you, a thousand thanks for this welcome. It really warms the heart to be able to meet you again for this summer gathering, this family day of the Mouvement Réformateur. Now, I know the competition is tough this morning, since the attractions at Walibi certainly pay off much more, especially for the youngest among you, than all these speeches, but I believe it is important to devote a few more minutes to laying out the direction, to laying out the hope that we are going to deploy for our country. But before that, I have the great pleasure and great honour of introducing a surprise guest. This surprise guest is not just anyone. It is someone with an extremely strong political project. It is someone with a completely unprecedented political career. It is someone who today gives us immense pleasure, a great honour, and which I personally take as a gesture of friendship. I ask you to welcome our Prime Minister Bart De Wever!
Thank you, Prime Minister, thank you dear Bart for this important speech, as it underlines our will to reform. You will ask me: but reform why? At the start of this congress, those who were already here may have had the chance to hear Gérard Lenorman's song “Si j'étais président”. One can take it as an ambition, but it is certainly not personal ambition. What matters are the other words of the song. It may seem naive, it may seem rather credulous, but fundamentally, if one does politics, it is so that people are happier, so that our children in particular are happier. Of course, simply declaring it or using nice words does not achieve that goal. To reach that goal, one must work, one must strive, one must reform. Because today, the only thing blocking our future is our doubts, all these claims that it would not be possible, not desirable, impossible.
You will have already noticed how, whenever you propose a new idea, the first reaction is a blockage. The first reaction is to oppose it. That is easy and quite natural. Well, action, this action, lies at the heart of the liberal project. The liberal project and action are two intimately linked elements. We must act every day. And fight to make our values heard, but also against the egalitarian delusions of the left. Because by promoting egalitarianism, one never achieves equality, but always tyranny. That is why this action must translate into all the major elements of our society. The first of these today is the will to redeploy our economy and that of Europe. To finally have a growth strategy. This strategy for growth, development and industrialisation will be tabled and championed by the MR within the government in the coming days. Growth, this word so banned, this word so vilified. Growth would be something bad, would almost be something one should fight against. That forgets that growth has enabled the highest level of human development in the history of mankind. This growth in Europe today is stalled. A few figures: 30 years ago, our GDP was at a level identical to that of the United States. Today our GDP represents only 65% of American GDP. Over the last 15 years it has grown by 2.8%. While American industrial production increased by 78%. You will tell me all this is just numbers. What matters is wellbeing, that's true, but wellbeing depends on the ability to have jobs, on the ability to create wealth to share, on the need to have an autonomous Europe and Belgium on these strategic issues, because today our values, our diplomacy and the law are just pieces of paper if we do not have in our hands an army, an industry, and the economic capacities to spread European liberal values across the world.
Beyond growth, for which, as I said, we will table new measures, we must also consider the reform packages already adopted under Bart De Wever's leadership by all our ministers, starting with David Clarinval, our deputy Prime Minister, whom we can indeed applaud. These reforms include, for example, the reform of unemployment, the reform of employment activation championed by Adrien Dolimont and Pierre-Yves Jeholet within the Walloon government, as well as the tax exemption on overtime so that those who want to work more can earn more. It is also the annual calculation of working time, to allow those who want to organise their private and professional lives differently to do so. It is also and above all the possibility of saving our social system. Because if today is family day, it is because we love our children. And if we love our children, we can no longer accept those women and men who think we could burn money we do not have today, thereby preventing future generations from having a desirable future, from having wellbeing, from having the means to make their own choices. So yes, I tell you, our reforms are not made for the next elections, but for the next generations.
Alongside growth, I also wanted to tell you that you too, honest Belgian citizens, have human rights. I am very irritated by those who worry a great deal about the fate of the guilty, of people who chose not to respect the rules, but who at the same time no longer worry about those young women, those young men who no longer dare walk around at night, about those families who today live in fear of a stray bullet in Brussels, for example in the context of one of the 63 shootings that Anderlecht has experienced since the start of 2024. I rarely hear them worry about this fundamental right, this essential right that is yours, to live in peace, to live in safety. So yes, I tell you, ladies and gentlemen, we want soldiers in the streets. These soldiers must be able to return to sensitive locations in Brussels before the end of this year. We must be creative, we must be determined. To fight against these shootings, we must also enable our police and justice forces, thanks to the refinancing already provided for in the government agreement and implemented by Bernard Quintin, to fight criminal organisations. To ensure that fear changes sides. We must also implement the toughening of all criminal rules. So that prison once again inspires fear. Not among honest people, but among criminals. We will also, and I take responsibility for this before you, have to build a prison abroad, likely in Kosovo, to detain people guilty of crimes who are also in an irregular situation. It is not up to Belgians and Belgium to pay every year to house in our prisons people who have no business being on our territory and who, in addition to having benefited from our hospitality, went on to commit illegal acts. So I want things to be clear between us. Our liberal project is humanist. And we will always reach out to women, men and children who suffer around the world. I want to say it before you: we have a duty to welcome. We have a duty to provide better support. We have a duty to ensure that people who come to our territory can integrate, can access employment. But people who come to Belgium also have a duty: to respect our country. If everyone respects the rights and obligations, we can have a peaceful society, a society where everyone works in the same direction to ensure that our country and Europe prosper in peace.
The third and final point on which we must act is freedom. Starting with freedom of expression. Everything sets the liberal project apart from Charlie Kirk. But no one should pay with their life for their opinions, whatever those opinions may be. And we would not be liberals if we thought otherwise, we would not be liberals if we did not fight so that everyone can express their opinion. At the same time, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to address a message to the left. Because I was stunned to see on social networks activists, sometimes political representatives, saying that ultimately, this man had got what he was looking for. No one, I repeat, should die for ideas in a democracy. That is the greatness of the liberal project. But I would like to say this to them. Instead of constantly signing charters for anti-fascist municipalities, they would elevate themselves by considering the universalist character of our values. And if there is no room for fascists, which I share with them, there is equally no room for communists, far-left extremists, all these structures which, because they believe they hold the truth, that they speak for the good, think they can use violence: violence that our political movement suffers daily, that I suffer daily, whether it be damage to property, attacks on individuals, insults. One can only be sincere in defending universal values if these values apply to everyone. To LFI as to the RN, and in Belgium, I want to say it, no pasaran to the Vlaams Belang, no pasaran to the PTB.
Freedom must also apply in cultural matters. You saw artists perform on this stage before the congress. Some of their jokes were daring, it must be said. I sometimes had a knot in my stomach in the control room. But never, never should their material be censored. Never should they be prevented from performing. Never should their humour and creativity be controlled. That also applies to that Israeli conductor whose fault, in the eyes of some, is being Israeli, perhaps even Jewish, though they won't dare tell you that. Culture must be free. Culture must transcend conflicts. Culture is, on the contrary, a vector of peace. The organisers of this festival, as well as the politicians who supported this boycott, did exactly the opposite of what culture is. Because yes, I am often criticised on this point, but before you, I want to own it. I am a firm opponent of politicised culture, of partisan culture, of culture that believes it must systematically support and entrench left-wing ideology. I believe instead in a depoliticised culture, a free culture, a creative culture, a culture that shares beyond races, languages, differences and nationalities.
So I had promised not to keep you long, because now the park is yours and you will have the opportunity, for example, to share an ice cream with Cécile Neven or see the Minister-President of Wallonia serve you some fries, so don't hesitate. When I tell you that our elected representatives are at your disposal, they are entirely at your disposal. But before concluding, I wanted to say the following words, which I address to my family and my own. The coming months will be difficult. They will be difficult because we are going to reform. Reforming is not hard. What is sometimes complicated is facing three categories of people. Those, and we can understand them, who would like to do exactly the opposite. Those who would like to do the same thing but are not capable of it. And above all those, certainly the majority of our opponents, who simply would like to do nothing. So, faced with these attacks, we must be united. We must be strong. Above all, we must be organised, like an Italian football team from the 1980s in defence. Let nothing through. Above all, we must walk with our heads held high. Above all, we must defend our ideas. All the tools will be made available to you. My availability has always been total, and it will be even more so. Because I know we are on the eve of a historic moment. We are on the eve of enabling Belgium to get back on its feet, to look towards the future and, above all, to restore hope to all our fellow citizens. More than ever, be proud to be liberals!
