It has become mere routine. Everyone calls it what they wish. Independence Day, Republic Day, National Day... Independence Day is undoubtedly inappropriate given that we never truly were independent. It was a poisoned gift at a time when maintaining colonized countries had become a burden for colonizers, as it was a geopolitical trend of the era, the 1960s for Africa. Independence was granted when former colonies were unprepared to assume this status. It was rather a trap for eternal dependence, permanent aid, infinite assistance. They lacked sufficient infrastructure—roads, industries, senior management, technicians, expertise... Proof being that we cannot manufacture matches and toothpicks, which we import from countries with less than a third of Madagascar's forest area. Everything good about colonization disappeared with nationalization, to the point that state companies became phantoms requiring privatization. Independence was never effective and sovereignty merely served to display pride when foreigners meddle in our affairs. Republic Day, since we are one only on paper and in history. And it is no one's fault since the Republic's motto changes with each regime change. And that is precisely why it is not respected. Democracy requires a Republic to exist, even if we do not observe its principles. As long as there are elections, that suffices for the international community, whereas except for two or three presidential elections, the rest have been tainted by fraud and manipulation. National Day may be acceptable since we have always had it, even if it was not celebrated as today. There are countries without national days, like Denmark and the United Kingdom, yet this does not prevent them from being models of democracy and development. What does national celebration mean if the measures taken are anti-development? Lowering excise duties on beer and telecommunications while taxing imported rice and gas at 20%, while cutting education budgets, has no coherence with the State's general policy. When we announce that the commerce law aims at economic revival, we see there is a wide gap between intention and reality. If there is one area requiring urgent measures where all warning lights are red, it is absolutely education. International organizations like Unicef and donors like the World Bank have published damning reports. Reducing the National Education budget constitutes infanticide. In some places, the CEPE exam took place on bare ground, without desks or anything. Some districts are building their secondary schools with makeshift means. Meanwhile, deputies' allowances have been increased and the presidency budget comfortably raised. It is difficult, under these conditions, to find any connection between priorities and urgencies.