A Eurosocialist future? What kind of socialism in France?:
Woodrow, Alain
A Eurosocialist future? MITTERRAND MEANT IT WHAT KIND OF SOCIALISM IN FRANCE? ALAIN WOODROW MANY PEOPLE who did not vote for Franpois Mitterrand, and even some of those who did, appear surprised...
...My electoral promises constitute the charter of the government's action," stated Mr...
...Indeed, the latter are more than willing to participate in the reform of the school system envisaged by the Minister of Education...
...Mauroy...
...Saint-Gobain-Pont-a-Mousson...
...Msgr...
...How will these social measures be financed...
...Rhone-Poulenc...
...In spite of the presence of four Communist ministers in minor posts, one would need to be an American-and a naive one at that-to speak of a "marxist threat" or see "a red under every bed...
...The two guiding principles are the reduction of unemployment and the curbing of inflation...
...Mitterrand, who added: "If it should prove necessary to modify or enlarge this course of action in the future, this will only be possible after the people, in a new electoral consultation, have said their last word...
...Prime Minister Mauroy has promised to give real power to the regions, and even do away with the government-appointed prefect system as it now exists...
...The French socialist party is made up of divergent, not to say conflicting, currents, of which only one, the Ceres group, takes a marxist line...
...He could not have been clearer in the message he delivered to Parliament on July 9th...
...Under Valery Giscard d'Estaing's presidency, all three were periodically shaken by scandals...
...which had been progressively eroded under the preceding regime...
...The banking sector will remain pluralist," stated Mr...
...They will retain their responsibility to act and take initiatives on the national and international levels...
...and secondly by a more determined attack on tax evasion, at present very widespread...
...ALAIN WOODROW MANY PEOPLE who did not vote for Franpois Mitterrand, and even some of those who did, appear surprised that he actually intends to put into practice what he promised during his election campaign...
...This course of action was then spelled out in great detail by Pierre Mauroy, the Prime Minister...
...I see myself as a socialist having inherited two cultures of the French left-wing tradition, that of Jules Guesde and that of Jean Jaures," he is quoted as saying...
...These objectives are to be reached by the creation of new jobs (210,000 public jobs to be created immediately) and the stepping up of industrial activity...
...At their recent congress in Toulouse, the militantly anticlerical Teachers' Union (Syndicat national des instituteurs et professeurs de college) voted unanimously in favor of the "nationalization of the education system" and the "abrogation of the existing anti-lay legislation...
...He didn't say whether the prayer should be one of propitiation or thanksgiving...
...Pierre Evt, rector of the Catholic Institute of mlouse, who has just been elected rector of the Paris Catholic Institute, expressed his surprise at the position adopted by the Teachers' Union, adding: "One should make a distinction between the combative laicist position of this Union and the pro-lay position welcomed by Catholics...
...Apart from the hoped-for industrial growth, the main source will come from increased taxation...
...Other reforms will affect the police, the mass media and the judicial system...
...They are surprised to discover that the former First Secretary of the Socialist party still proclaims himself to be a socialist now that he is president, and that his socialism was not one of mere opportunism...
...The new government intends to restore the democratic workings of parliament (written and oral questions and answers, abolition of the "vote bloque," etc...
...Firstly by the levying of a new tax on large individual fortunes, leading in the long term to a reform of the whole tax system...
...and Thomson-Brandt...
...Five other industrial groups will come next: the General Electricity Company...
...In any case, the church is resolutely in favor of peace on the schools question...
...Helmut Schmidt and, in spite of our differences, I would say that we belong to the same family...
...The socialist government has announced a sweeping reform for the autumn, and promised that there will be no more direct interventions or censorship...
...As for Mr...
...General de Gaulle, it will be remembered, resigned from office after having lost a referendum on this subject, although the issue was far from clear...
...In addition, old-age pensions, aid to the handicapped and family allowances will be gradually increased...
...I.T.T.France and Roussel-Uclaf...
...and the metallurgical complex Usinor and Sacilor, which is undergoing a financial crisis...
...Less perhaps, was the remark made by the papal legate to the Eucharistic Congress in Lourdes, Cardinal Ber-nardin Gantin, who said that this Congress "should give French Catholics the occasion to pray and reflect on the momentous political events that have recently taken place in France...
...The identity and autonomy of these companies will be safeguarded," he said...
...The first target is the banks, at least the three major ones...
...I have many new ideas in common with Mr...
...The minor banks will escape nationalization, and also the various private industrial holdings of the major banks...
...What kind of socialism is represented by the new French government...
...Further, the Prime Minister assured the groups concerned that private shareholders would be reimbursed equitably...
...By 1985, the thirty-five hour week should be achieved and a fairer distribution of the salary scale, at present one of the most extended in Europe...
...Mauroy, he refuses to make a distinction between "social-democrat" and "socialist...
...Another pledge the government plans to keep concerns decentralization...
...The television forms a government monopoly and was regarded by recent presidents almost as a propaganda machine: "the voice of France," as de Gaulle put it...
...Mauroy, nationalization does not mean full state control...
...The last three, groups with wide foreign interests, will be the object of negotiations...
...Their position was widely condemned by all shades of opinion, even eliciting a rebuke from Alain Savary, Minister of Education...
...The important cabinet posts, on the other hand, have gone to middle-of-the-road or right-wing socialists, like Pierre Mauroy (Prime Minister), Jacques Delors (Finance) or Claude Cheysson (Foreign Affairs...
...Particularly on the vexed question of the abrogation of aid to private schools, church authorities are anxious to avoid polemics, and they have accepted the government's assurance that nothing will be decided without lengthy bilateral negotiations...
...They are: C.I.I.-Honeywell-Bull...
...The television, radio, and press constitute another area where reform was long overdue...
...The Catholic church in France is keeping a low profile after the victory of the left...
...The most controversial chapter of the socialist program, however, is that dealing with nationalization...
...During the present legislature, bills will be introduced to abolish the Cour de Surete de VEtat, the army tribunals, the recent law on security and liberty and the death penalty...
...Pechiney-Ugine-Kuhlman...
...Here are the salient points of the government's program...
...Of the eight French ones, three will be nationalized immediately: the Dassault group, which produces military equipment, mainly aeroplanes...
...We have no intention of establishing a monopoly over the credit system.'' With regard to industry, eleven major groups will be nationalized...
...The heads of the three channels were nominated by the president, and the government exerted continual and direct pressure on them, with regard to the content of the programs, especially the newscasts...
...The police, increasingly used as an instrument of oppression, were at the command of the politicians in power and used to cover up such scandals as the assassination of the Prince de Broglie, fhe so-called suicide of a prominent cabinet member and the tapping of the Canard Enchdine's telephones...
...Mauroy also stressed the socialist government's intention of playing an active role in the building of Europe, and in stepping up France's aid to the Third World, to reach the desired target of 0.7 percent of the gross national product...
...the Matra group, especially the armament sector...
...According to Mr...
Vol. 108 • August 1981 • No. 15
