History 172 – Modern France Pluralising the Republic

Outline The decline of the far left Pluralising the Republic

Anti-totalitarians, 1970s 1968 – Far left component (Maoist, Trotskyite) – Libertarian as well – Esprit – Journal with anti-totalitarian slant – Communism less attractive in the wake of Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago – Still, a highly technocratic state throughout the 1970s, managed by politically appointed énarques – (École nationale de l’Administration)

Giscard

Valéry Giscard D’Estaing ( ) 1973 – Oil crisis / recession – Stagflation: contradicted economic theory – Attempts to lower inflation increased unemployment Giscard – to the left of most British and American centre-right parties Promoted fusion of state-subsidized companies to compete internationally Shift to nuclear power – Today, France gets 75% of its power this way

Gradual turn to market economy Markets as autonomous forces Politics must adapt to those forces, rather than directing them (a retreat from dirigisme) France embarked on selective dirigisme: support the strong with state subsidies, allow or force the weak to perish: 70% increase in company bankruptcies after 1974.

Main winners of economic policies Large agriculture Energy companies Telephone/communications Train / airlines

Losers Small farmers and businesses Industrial labour – Unemployment rises – Benefits and retraining: offered only after vigorous strikes

Mitterrand Years ( ) First victory of Socialists in Fifth Republic Euphoria upon election – dancing in the streets Fears that ‘Russian tanks will soon be rolling through the streets of Paris’ (Cold War)

Who was he? As student at Sciences Po, active in right- leaning parties in mid 1930s associated with the Croix-de-feu (quasi-fascist group) Capture by Germans. Developed left-leaning sympathies in prison camp, which he eventually escaped from Joined Vichy government but supported resistance

Who was he? Active in parties of the left in 1950s Held ministerial positions Deeply committed to keeping Algeria French Tried to profit from 1968, but people saw through this

Mitterrand s Seen as an opportunist Slowly, methodically, cunningly, he pried Communist supporters towards Socialist party Came close to winning presidency in 1974 Won in 1981

Early policies Raised minimum wage 5 week holidays 39 hour work week Super tax Increase of social benefits and employee rights At odds with other countries who were moving headlong into market economics

Reversals Anti-inflation Austerity Move towards European economic union Maastricht Treaty 1992 – free trade zone Cordial with Thatcher: ‘Eyes of Caligula, mouth of Marilyn Monroe’

Political economy of France since 1980s Further move away from dirigisme 2000s: Privatizations Political effects: Front national (FN) benefits from economic stresses and failure of mainstream parties to alleviate them

Pluralism Bidonvilles Aubervilliers, 1970 HLM: public housing initiatives

Bidonvilles

Bidonville, Nanterre

HLM

Problems Isolation from other socio-economic groups Undermined republican ‘assimilation’ ideals Boredom, unemployment, violence Clashes with police, revolts

Veil politics 1989 – banned in schools – Left and far-right cametogether on banning them – Attempts to build mosques in 1980s – vehemently resisted by many French people – Why wear scarves? Forced or a choice? – Left finds new agenda: culture rather than class – Algerian Civil War in 1990s: veil=Islam=terrorism

World Cup, 1998 Banlieue / city boundaries break down for an evening Racism defied by victory – Le Pen silent Pasqua laws of early 1990s / ‘sans-papiers’ debate – Children of foreign born parents not automatically given French nationality – Stricter residency rules

French Riots 2005 Second generation immigrants Arab, North African, Blacks Nearly 3000 arrested 9000 cars destroyed 274 towns affected