France: Politics in the Fifth Republic. Meelis Kitsing

Transcription

1 France: Politics in the Fifth Republic Meelis Kitsing

2 The evolution of French democracy has been marked by far more conflict than that of the United Kingdom. In comparison with British political traditions of tolerance and compromise, French have been characterized by revolution and violence.

3 France in Historical Perspective Authoritarianism and democracy sometimes bordering on anarchy are both part of French political tradition. Their reconciliation has been difficult but has also made the system interesting. France s historical roots are usually traced to Charlemagne, King of Franks, in 800 A.D. whose empire first united Europe. Like in Britain, the evolution of the French state began with its feudal kings need to extract money from their subjects. Unlike in Britain, this led to authoritarianism and the establishment of a centralized bureaucracy that taxed with ruthless efficiency. The French kings received political support from the Roman Catholic Church and the landed aristocracy. The Church legitimized the monarchy by preaching the divine right of kings and the kings granted the Church complete control over French religious life. The aristocracy financed the monarchy and maintained order in the countryside.

4 France in Historical Perspective Both the Church and the aristocracy provided the manpower for the ever expanding bureaucracy. Cardinal Richelieu (1624) who modernized the bureaucracy and established the groundwork for a modern standing army is the most illustrious. Over time big businessmen (haute bourgeoisie) replaced the aristocracy and used their wealth to buy hereditary titles. They did not, however, provide a counterweight to the crown or church. By 1789, the people were starving. King Louis XVI, however unwisely, convened the Estates General, an irregular parliamentary body, to attempt to raise new taxes to support his faltering regime. The Estates were: 1) First Estate nobility with 330 deputies; 2) Second Estate clergy with 326 deputies; and 3) Third Estate commoners with 661 deputies. Each Estate had equal representation which meant the nobility and clergy outweighed the commoners. The commoners protested demanding one-man-one vote, the king refused and July 14, 1789 Paris was in revolt abruptly ending Louis XVI s reign.

5 French political vocabulary used in text Haute bourgeoisie Estates General Grandes Ecoles Plebiscite Cohabitation Navette Enarques Pantoflage Petite bourgeoisie Neocorporatism Solidarite etudiante Independent democratique Dirigisme Wealthy merchants Irregular parliamentary body called by the king just before the French Revolution in 1789 Elite professional schools that train the French bureaucracy and most of the country s leaders Popular referendum A situation that exists when the president and prime minister represent different political parties Informal negotiations between the two houses of parliament Graduates of the Ecole Nationale d Administration (ENA) France s elite professional school that trains senior administrators A descriptive term for people who begin their careers in the civil service then jump to the private sector Small merchants, business people, artisans An aspect of the French political system which allows pressure groups to voice their concerns at the beginning of the legislative process Marxist student group (Student Solidarity) Socialist oriented student group (Independent democracy) Mild form of state capitalism

6 France in Historical Perspective The new National Assembly declared France a democracy. It issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, a fundamental document on human liberty. The National Assembly, however, soon gave way to extremism and demands for vengeance for the centuries of oppression. Churches were sacked, aristocrats murdered, the monarchy destroyed. The then revolution turned on itself murdering tens of thousands of French citizens before Robespierre and other leaders of the terror were themselves executed in 1794.This reign of terror created major political divisions in the French populace. The deepest was the split between the Church and the believers on one side and the radical anti-clericalists, or populist nationalists, of the revolution on the other. Many people distrusted both. But remnants of this polarization remain today in French political life.

7 General Napoleon Bonaparte I: The First Empire ( ) The 1789 Revolution established the following political principles: 1) that all citizens were equal before the law; 2) that power resided in the people and their elected representatives; and 3) that church and state were separate each ruler within its own domain - and the roots of French secularism. Yet the revolutionaries did not question the concentration of power in a centralized state. The question was who would wield it. Napoleon s seizure of power concluded ten years of a bloody revolution. It ended with his defeat at Waterloo in Domestically, Napoleon instituted two enduring political institutions: 1) the Napoleonic Code, a legal system used throughout much of the world today; and 2) a meritbased bureaucracy grounded in Grandes Ecoles, or elite colleges, to provide the state with cadres highly trained in the revolutionary principles of reason and logic.

8 The Second Republic and the Second Empire For the next 200 years, French politics swung between republicanism and authoritarianism as the French battled out the basic forms of government amongst themselves. The main events are listed in Table 4.1, Palmer p The Revolution of 1848 led to the Second Republic which was founded on the principles of universal adult male suffrage. But within three years, its elected president Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon I, asked the citizens to vote (plebiscite) to grant him dictatorial powers. The authority granted, he declared himself Emperor of France and the Second Empire began. Napoleon III retained a parliament, but kept all the power. The turbulence of the mid-1800s reflected the inequality gap engendered by France s Industrial Revolution. Industrialists became rich while workers and peasants failed to benefit.

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11 The Third Republic ( ) Napoleon III s reign collapsed in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, a war he had started to try to keep the German states from unifying. The National Assembly deputies founded the Third Republic, but in 1871, Paris erupted in Marxist flames with rioters establishing the short-lived Paris Commune to rule in the people s name. But the leaders of the Third Republic crushed the Commune. The Third Republic lasted seventy years. Throughout this period, French politics was divided into two major irreconcilable cleavages: 1) the right dominated by monarchists, clerics, and Church supporters; and 2) the fragmented left that included Communists, socialists, anarchists and other groups that projected themselves as the heirs of the Revolution. By the late 1930s, the right found much to praise in Adolf Hitler s policies and the Communist left supported the Soviet Union. Governments were shortlived and unstable lasting on average eight months. The Third Republic last as long as it did in part because France s professional bureaucracy ran the country while the politicians argued.

12 Fundamental Dualism of French Politics in Third Republic ( ) Political Left Communists, Socialists and Anarchists and other diverse groups that claimed to be heirs to the ideals of the French Revolution of 1789 Political Right Monarchists, Clerics and Supporters of the Roman Catholic Church

13 German Occupation and Vichy, France France s 1940 military collapse deepened the society s ideological divisions. German forces occupied Paris and regions next to the German border. The rest of France was ruled by the Vichy Government, a puppet regime based in the village of Vichy under the presidency of Marshal Philippe Petain, an aging WWI French military hero. The political right collaborated with the Nazis as did many French moderates including Francois Mitterrand, France s first Socialist president from Abroad, the French resistance was led by General Charles de Gaulle, the nationalistic, charismatic leader of the Free French forces in Britain. Internally, the resistance included the Communist Party, the Catholic Church and the supporters of de Gaulle, or Gaullists. Each resistance group positioned itself to emerge on top after the Source: war. Palmer 2004

14 The Fourth Republic ( ) De Gaulle advocated a strong executive to rebuild the wartorn nation and retired from politics when his ideas were rejected. Instead, the French chose to concentrate power in a popularly elected National Assembly with a symbolic president. The choice of a popular representation (PR) electoral system that mirrored the vote and the fragmentation of the French electorate ensured no one could govern. The Fourth Republic lasted 12 years. During that period, a Gaullist movement, the Rally of the French People (RPF) was launched. Its platform became that of the French right, but the Gaullists also drew support from the middle and working classes and particularly practicing Catholics. Even replacement of the PR system with single-member districts failed to stabilize the Fourth Republic because deputies continued to bring down governments in hope of obtaining a cabinet position in the next one. Labor strikes paralyzed the economy.

15 The Fourth Republic ( ) The Cold War was at its height and the anti-colonial revolt in Algeria had begun in Algeria was not only a colony, but a department (province) of France and home to two million French settlers. France s political right supported the war. The Communistled left, demanded Algeria s immediate independence and dismantlement of France s larger colonial empire which stretched from Southeast Asia to West Africa. By 1958, the government seeing no end in sight sought a political solution. French army commanders in Algeria mutinied and established a provisional government called the Committee for Public Safety. Gaullists seized control of the committee and demanded that de Gaulle be made France s leader. Leftists took to the streets in Paris to protest, but to no Source: avail. Palmer 2004

16 The Fifth Republic (1959-present) The Fourth Republic s president capitulated. De Gaulle agreed to form a government, but under the condition his own constitution be submitted to the people for ratification. If they approved it, he would serve. If not, he would not. The plebiscite approved the Gaullist constitution and the Fifth Republic was born. De Gaulle saw colonialism as an anachronism, and to the military s dismay, granted Algeria its independence. France was spared civil war, its economy revived and some of its prestige restored. But May 1968, students and workers rioted. De Gaulle crushed the revolt and drafted a new program of social and economic reform which he submitted as an up-or-down plebiscite. This time, the voters rejected the program and de Gaulle retired from politics. But his party remained in power and the Fifth Republic endured. The four presidents that have followed de Gaulle have helped to consolidate the Gaullist political institutions and establish them as the basis for the stable, productive and democratic Source: French Palmer 2004 political system in operation today.

17 French Political Institutions The Gaullist Constitution sets out a government that emphasizes 1) a strong president; 2) a prime minister with uncertain powers; 3) a two chamber legislature with a popularly elected National Assembly (lower house) and an indirectly elected Senate; 4) a constitutional Council (Supreme Court); 5) a Social and Economic Council to accommodate major interest groups; and 6) a Council of State that coordinates relations between the government and the bureaucracy. The Constitution s Bill of Rights protects civil rights. The Constitution also ensures that the president has sweeping powers to rule in the event of an emergency.

18 Elections and Politics Presidential elections are held once every five years and the winner needs 50 percent plus one of the popular vote. If no candidate wins in the first round, the field is narrowed to the two dominant candidates and a second round is held. Since many candidates compete in the first round and the French electorate uses it to vent its political frustrations, holding a second round is normal. This happened in 2002 when to most everyone s surprise Jean-Marie Le Pen, an anti-immigration extreme rightist, came in second forcing an election between the not so popular center-right president Jacques Chirac and Le Pen rather than, as expected between Chirac and then center-left (socialist) prime minister Lionel Jospin. The center left supported Chirac in the second round who won a record 82 percent of the vote. In 2007 center-right candidate Nicolas Sarkozy defeated socialist Segolene Royal in the presidential elections.

19 Elections and Politics National Assembly (577 deputies) elections also follow the two round electoral pattern and voters and parties behave similarly. In the first round, voters vote their hearts; in the second their heads. This system is called a single-member, simple majority voting system. The center-right also won the 2002 National Assembly elections so it controls both the presidency and the most powerful branch of the parliament. But in the 2004, the Socialists swept the regional elections. In 2007, right won national elections even though they lost 40 seats to socialists. France s electoral system forces fragmented political groups into grand coalitions, or party families, but it does not force them into cohesive political parties as in the United Kingdom.

20 Executive Power: The President and Prime Minister The Constitution created a system whereby the president establishes the broad parameters of public policy; and the prime minister, nominated by the president, guides the president s program through parliament. This works well when the same political party controls both offices; it can but does not necessarily create grid-lock when they are in the hands of opposing parties. Presidential powers derive from three sources: 1) those stated in the Constitution, 2) those implied from a generous interpretation of its articles; and 3) those established by precedent or from the larger French political context. These powers are considerable, but the system contains some checks and the Constitution is a particularly vague document that invites interpretation. De Gaulle interpreted these powers in an imperial fashion, a tradition emulated by his successors.

21 Major Presidential Powers under the Fifth Republic (1958-Present) As commander-in-chief negotiates and ratify treaties thus allowing the President to dominate defense and foreign policy; Sees the Constitution is respected and ensures, by arbitration, the government functions; Makes civilian and military appointments so as to control of political patronage positions; Can rule by decree during states of emergency.

22 Francois Mitterrand on the powers of the President Valerie Giscard d Estaing: (The) president of the republic can do anything, the president of the republic does everything, the president of the republic substitutes for the government, the government for the parliament, thus the president of the republic substitutes himself for parliament. The president of the republic takes care of everything, even the gardens along the Seine. - in Ronald Tiersky, France in the New Europe: Changing Yet Steadfast. 1994, p. 53.

23 Executive Power: The President and Prime Minister Formal presidential powers include the naming of the prime minister and Cabinet, but the National Assembly can force a prime minister to resign through a vote of no confidence. The president can ignore it, but in reality has little to gain by supporting a prime minister who has lost the assembly s confidence. The president cannot veto legislation, but can force the assembly to reconsider it. Given the assembly s divisiveness this is often enough to kill such legislation. Other provisions give the president total dominance in the fields of foreign and defense matters, control over civil and military appointments (ensuring the presidency is the major source of patronage.) Presidential informal powers include the ability to mold French public opinion as the center piece of French media coverage. When the president and prime minister are not of the same party, as has happened several times since 1958, their powers are equal. This is known as cohabitation.

24 The Prime Minister and Cabinet: Council of Ministers Constitutionally, the relationship between the powers of the president and of the prime minister is ambiguous. In reality, the balance of power between the two executives depends on which coalition of political parties controls the National Assembly. If the president s coalition controls the National Assembly, the role of prime minister is that of floor manager. Presidents take credit for programs that succeed; they change prime ministers when they don t.

25 Cohabitation: Who Rules France? The rules for cohabitation are a work in progress. They differ dramatically when the same party family controls the presidency and the National Assembly versus when power is split between left and right. Cohabitation in general raises tensions and recently French political analysts have tended to blame it for immobilizing the French political process.

26 The Parliament versus the President The Constitution details what the parliament can and can t do. For example, the Constitution states that all laws require Parliamentary passage. But it also distinguishes between laws and regulations and states that the latter do not need parliamentary approval. Basically, parliament must approve legislation that applies domestically, but the Constitution makes foreign and defense policy the purview of the president. Further, if parliament cannot decide on a finance bill within 70 days, the provisions... may be enforced by ordinance. If the parliament refuses to act on a bill, the president can refer it to the people in a referendum. If the majority approves, the bill becomes law. Further, the French parliament cannot avoid an issue by ignoring it because the government can force an up-or-down vote with no modification. If the blocked bill fails, the prime minister must submit his resignation. This raises political stakes because it paves the way for new elections a prospect no government or deputy relishes.

27 The National Assembly and the Senate The National Assembly (577 deputies) and the Senate (321 members) are elected by universal suffrage for terms no longer than five years. The president of the Republic can dissolve the assembly, but elections must be held within three weeks. Senators are elected for nine-year terms by a electoral college that includes: 1) deputies from the National Assembly, 2) 3,000 some members of departmental (provincial) councils, and 3) over 100,000 city council members. This provides the Senate with a strong regional base. French citizens living in France s overseas territories also have Senate representation. The president cannot dissolve the Senate.

28 The National Assembly and the Senate Bills must be considered in both chambers. If both approve, the bill is sent to the president for signature. If the versions of the bills conflict, three procedures can be used to reconcile the differences: 1) informal negotiations (navette) between the two houses; 2) the Government may request a formal conference committee be convened to develop a compromise; 3) the Government may ask each chamber to reconsider the legislation. The conference committee approach is used the most. If reconciliation fails, the National Assembly determines the final legislation. When the latter happens, passage requires an absolute majority of all members. The National Assembly, then, dominates the parliamentary process. The Senate s role is to delay and obstruct. Its power is greatest when the Assembly s ruling coalition is the smallest and least cohesive. The Senate is also particularly sensitive to local finance issues.

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30 How a Bill Becomes a Law As expected, Government bills fare much better in the legislative process than those introduced by individual members, in part because the Government controls when bills are introduced. Once introduced, it goes to the Council of State for a legal advisory opinion, and sometimes also to the Economic and Social Council where pressure groups can weigh in. Then the bill is assigned to the appropriate committee which can make technical, but not substantive, amendments. The bill is then debated in the full Assembly, but the outcome depends on the strength of the governing coalition. Once a bill passes, it goes to the Senate where the process repeats. Once passed and reconciled in both houses, the bill goes to the Government for signature and then to the president. If the president opposes legislation as happens during cohabitation there are three options: 1) the legislation can be returned to Parliament for reconsideration; 2) the president can refuse to sign the bill which disassociates the president from the legislation even through it can still go into effect; 3) the president can challenge its Constitutionality through the Constitutional Council.

31 Parliament as Watchdog Specially established parliamentary committees can investigate ministerial and bureaucratic improprieties. But since they are partisan, members are reluctant to embarrass the Government. Likewise, members of parliament can question the Government on partisan or constituency issues but this check is largely deflected by the Conference of Presidents that supports the Government. Parliamentary absenteeism is high for two reasons: 1) a sense of futility among delegates because of executive control and power; and 2) low salaries that force many to seek outside positions often as city mayors or other political ones. Further, staff support is minimal. These reasons combine to make French legislators less effective than their counterparts in the US, Britain and Germany.

32 Law and Politics The Constitutional Council of State (Supreme Court) was among de Gaulle s most innovative proposals in the 1958 Constitution. The nine judge Council consists of three presidential appointees, three appointed by the president of the National Assembly and three appointed by the Senate. Terms are staggered: the composition changes at three year intervals. The Council s president is appointed by the president of the republic and votes only in case of ties. In contrast to the US Supreme Court, the Council rules on laws before presidential enactment. It can declare one part of a bill unconstitutional in a kind of line-item-veto keeping what it likes and rejecting the remainder.

33 Law and Politics In 1974 the parliament amended the Constitution so that a petition signed by only 60 deputies or 60 senators could force the Council to review a bill. This meant that about ten percent of the National Assembly could obstruct the will of them majority. By 1990, 50 percent of the bills sent to the Council were declared totally or partially illegal. Pressures are now building to allow individual citizens to contest the constitutionality of laws. In addition, the Council of State is the Government s official legal advisor. Even before Government bills reach the Parliament, they are sent to the Council for review. Finally, the Council heads France s administrative court system that helps resolve disputes between administrative departments and agencies, and may even initiate studies of major social and administrative matters and make appropriate recommendations to the Government.

34 Bureaucracy France s centralized state required a strong bureaucracy. Napoleon rationalized the system through the establishment of the Grandes Ecoles to train France s best and brightest for state service. The bureaucracy s power expanded under the weak third and fourth republics and it was the competency of the bureaucracy that kept the state functioning. The Ecole Nationale d Administration (ENA), established in 1946 to train senior administrators (graduates are called enarques) in advanced level economics, planning and public administration, increased the elite nature of the already elitist bureaucracy.

35 Bureaucracy The French parliament continues to delegate broad powers to the bureaucracy. Senior bureaucrats shape policy by controlling the information ministers need to make informed decisions. They also decide when and how policies are implemented. ENA is considering admission for students from EU countries, a step that would increase French influence in the EU. ENA already offers a short course for third world students. Although the 2.5 million strong French bureaucracy is divided into four classes: administrative, executive, clerical and custodial, 10,000 senior members of the administrative class form the elite service and this class is heavily weighted in favor of enarques who run the bureaucracy. A much smaller group of them is called the grandes fonctionnaires whose powerful members represent a key element in the political elite. The elite is creative and efficient. Neither is true of the rest of the bureaucracy.

36 The Actors

37 Elites Enarque graduates dominate the government and most come from the upper classes even though entrance to the Grandes Ecoles is based on merit examinations. French universities educate the masses. Socialist president Mitterrand ( ) tried to infuse the Cabinet and the bureaucracy with leftist academics, but the elitist orientation of the government remains pronounced. Political families pass governmental positions from one generation to another at the local and regional levels. The Republic s president is at the top of France s political hierarchy and the greater access one has to the president, the more influence the person has. The rest of the political elite include the prime minister, cabinet ministers, top business leaders, senior members of the president s office, generals and labor leaders. Until Mitterrand, the elected elite and the bureaucratic-business elite worked together to execute policies. The enarques served both often beginning in government service and then jumping to the private sector. (Pantoflage) In 1995, The Economist reported that almost one-half of French company heads are graduates of ENA or another Grande Ecole. All presidents of the Fifth Republic except Mitterrand had been career civil servants. Both President Jacques Chirac and defeated Socialist presidential candidate Lionel Jospin were ENA graduates.

38 Political Parties The concept of two Party Families is the key to understanding how the system operates because individual parties regularly appear and disappear, splinter and reconstitute themselves. Most parties consist of several wings, clubs and personality groupings any of which could splinter into a separate political party or join forces with an opposing one. This in part occurs because a French president consults little with anyone. Hence being part of the winning coalition provides few with much influence. It just means the president is closer to their viewpoint than to that of the opposition. Essentially, the two families represent the political left and the political right.

39 Political Parties Center Right: The Rally for the Republic (RPR) now the Union for the Presidential Majority (UMP) and the Union for French Democracy (UDF) The RPR (UMP) or Gaullists began as an assortment of large and small business, military, Catholic and related groups united behind the charisma of General de Gaulle and a fear of communism. They also drew upon...a sense of French nationalism rooted in the country s historical, cultural and scientific achievements. In the mid-1970s, the party divided into two the UDF (l Union pour la democratie francais) and the RPR (Rassemblement pour la Republique). The RPR represented small business interests, small merchants, artisans, farmers and retirees and others from France s petite bourgeoisie and its goals emphasized law and order, morality, lower taxes and high tariffs. Also the RPR was concerned about too great integration into Europe because it feared competition to older, less productive French industry.

40 Political Parties Center Right, cont.: At the time of the 2002 presidential elections, the RPR became the UMP (Union for the Presidential Majority) winning not only the presidency by also an absolute majority in the National Assembly so the UDF was left in the cold. In 2004, the Socialists swept the regional elections perhaps because of the French population s weariness with Chirac s imperiousness and his attempts to cut back France s generous labor, welfare and health legislation. The nearer to the 2007 elections, the less power Chirac will have. The French rejection of the EU Constitution despite Chirac s strong support is one example. The UDF represents big business and white collar workers. It became the party of economic liberalism and European unity combined with strong endorsement of individual rights and freedoms. Personality differences, not ideological ones, probably led to the right s defeat in the 1988 presidential elections, but in 1995 the then RPR and the UDF coalesced to permit a Chirac presidential victory.

41 Political Parties The Far Right: The National Front is the dominant rightist extremist party. Its support may be increasing at the regional and national levels. In the 2002 presidential elections it polled nearly 17 percent permitting Jean Marie Le Pen, its charismatic party leader, to face Chirac in the runoff. Typically, about three million French voters support Le Pen in the first round. Like other French parties, the National Front is fragmented and fraught with internal conflict. Ideologically, the National Front believes that the country suffers from record unemployment, exorbitant taxes, escalating crime and a drug use epidemic. All would be solved by reducing the large mostly North African immigrant community. Since 25 percent of the right that voted for Chirac in 1995 favor more cooperation with Le Pen, the UMP faces an identity problem and a pull from the far right.

42 Political Parties The Political Left: Communist (PCF) and Socialist Parties: The PCF s support has declined from its height of 28.2 percent of the vote during the Fourth Republic - support based on strong party organization, French disaffection with the weaknesses of the republic and PCF control of France s largest labor union (General Confederation of Labor or CGT). The Communists, not the Socialists, set the tone for the French left, but during de Gaulle s tenure, the PCF weakened: the economy improved, the country stabilized, and power shifted from the National Assembly where the PCF had more influence to the President where the communists had none. The PCF leadership decided to use the smaller Socialist Party as its front remaining behind the scenes but pulling the strings.

43 Political Parties The Socialist Party: The leftist Common Program as the coalition was called, ultimately benefited Francois Mitterrand s Socialists, a party that had advocated nationalization of industry and greater social equality but now amounts to capitalism with a conscience. The power shift was evidenced when Mitterrand was elected president of France in Since then, the PCF has obtained no more than seven percent of the vote. During the 1990s, the Socialists themselves lost ground. Many French voters had swung to the right. The party found itself unable to exploit its large number of constituency organizations for lack of funds. It also lacked a direct link to France s highly fragmented labor movement whose unions were themselves losing members. Yet, the Socialists won the National Assembly in 1997, entered into a five year cohabitation period with Chirac, but lost in 2002 perhaps because their radical days were over thereby reducing Source: Palmer support 2004 from the traditional left.

44 Political Parties The Greens hope to replace the PCF as the second party of the left. They are strongest at the local levels, gained eight National Assembly seats in the 1997 elections and participated in the Socialist Government. A loosely knit organization divided by personality splits and hurt by lack of funds, the Greens are divided into two major factions: one that strongly identifies with the Socialists and its social welfare programs; and the other that is strict environmentalism. As environmentalism has become more popular, the mainline parties especially the Socialists have gone after the Green vote. Its major supporters are young professionals, teachers, social workers and students, an articulate but limited base.

45 The French Party System: An Assessment The two party families will continue to dominate the French political scene. The major parties have become more responsible, e.g. the voters can expect that they will carry out campaign promises. These two large families have helped stabilize and moderate French politics, but they do not effectively check the president s powers - in part because personalities, not institutional constraints, dominate party organizations.

46 Pressure Groups The difference between party factions and pressure groups is sometimes hard to discern. The 231 member Economic and Social Council allows French pressure groups the chance to discuss legislation before it is passed. Just over half of the Council members are government appointees, the others represent major unions including labor, business and farmers as well as professional groups. Similar consultative councils exist in many administrative departments. Special councils represent France s major religious groups including Jewish and, as of 2003, Muslims. In return, pressure groups are expected to be moderate and work well with government agencies. This process is known as neocorporatism. Missing from the Council, however, are women and immigrants.

47 Pressure Groups Labor Unions represent only eight to 14 percent of French workers and white collar employees depending on who s counting. There are six major unions divided ideologically. The three most important are: 1) GCT linked to the PCF; 2) French Confederation of Christian Workers (CFTC) linked to the Catholic Church; and the Work Force (FO) inclined towards the Socialist Party. The decline in unions paralleled the decline of French rust belt industries. The French economy is now hightech and service-oriented. High unemployment (around ten percent) also influences union membership workers fear membership will hurt their employment prospects. The same applies for strike participation. Truckers, civil servant and transport worker strikes remain common, but most are short lived.

48 Business The National Council of French Employers (CNPF) is the peak association for hundreds of firms and associations and is dominated by big business. It often, therefore, conflicts with the General Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CGPME) whose members are threatened by big business expansionary tendencies. The increase in supermarkets is a particular concern since the small grocery stores have been the petite bourgeoisie s lifeblood. Politically, the CNPF supports the moderate UDF and has close ties to the bureaucracy while the CGPME favors the Gaullist UMP.

49 The Catholic Church Most French identify as Catholics, but only ten percent are practicing. Catholic religious schools receive financial assistance from the state. More Catholics voted for Chirac than did members of other religions so the church retains a political voice, but the church appears more like a loose network of ideologically splintered semi-autonomous groups that range from Marxists, pro-choice and sexual freedom advocates to those who insist on the Mass in Latin.

50 Students and Intellectuals Students and Intellectuals remain the vanguard of the French left, and the two largest student organizations are: 1) the Marxist Solidarite etudiante; and 2) the socialist oriented Independent democratique. Student impact on government policies is minimal and urbanized youth has become far more politically apathetic in terms of the grand ideological debates of the past. They can, and still do, join political demonstrations that pertain to direct student concerns like jobs, student wages and poor educational conditions on campuses. These actions are effective and have forced the government to rethink cost-cutting as it tries to reign in state spending. Some of France s earlier political violence has been channeled into civic action groups or new social movements created to give voice to those left out of the traditional system including immigrants and women. Other civil action groups protest neo-fascist tendencies of the extreme right and Source: encourage Palmer 2004 support for AIDS victims.

51 Citizens and Politics Although citizens have little say about the day-to-day affairs of government, they play a major role in long term public policy direction. The electorate s increasing moderation has forced French parties to move to the center. Yet, citizen s concerns over unemployment, crime and terrorism have pushed the Government to draw a hard line on immigration.

52 Citizens and Politics Public opinion is measured through elections, polls and demonstrations. The first round of elections is often used to register dissatisfaction with current government policies. Polls are frequent and results show that over the past several years, the French are primarily and overwhelmingly concerned with economic issues. Polls are particularly important around election time because paid political advertising is prohibited three months before the elections so politicians use polling results heavily to determine their electoral strategies. Protests and demonstrations remain expressions of public opinion, but the numbers have recently decreased. Students, truckers, farmers and fishermen are the most visible, but research scientists took to the streets in 2004 to protest cut-backs in funding.

53 The Context: Culture, Economics and International Interdependence

54 Culture Today s France is far more unified than previously. The younger generation has grown up in a stable and prosperous environment. This generation s culture is MTV and the popularization of international youth culture. French citizens are more concerned about the quality of life and the environment. They are skeptical of politics and politicians to the point that more than one-third suggest French democracy does not function well.

55 Culture The Muslim community comes mainly from France s former North African colonies. It consists of about five million people or about 8.3 percent of the population, the largest of any in Europe. Many have assimilated into French culture, but a growing number remain faithful to their cultural traditions including the wearing of headscarves by female Muslim students. Laws banning headscarves in secondary and primary schools have increased tensions between some Muslims and French authorities intent on enforcing French laws and traditions of secularism. A French government study in 2004 identified 300 quartiers (districts) with a combined population of 1.8 million as ghettos in which Muslim youth are particularly at risk for radical Islam, crime and terrorism. In 2003, a special Islamic Council was created to allow the French Muslims a political vehicle for expressing their concerns. Meanwhile, radical imams (Muslim clerics) are being expelled from France and the French authorities have begun to train French imams better in tune with French culture and traditions.

56 Political Economy From the Political Economy perspective, conflict between rich and poor continues to define French politics as in the past. The major political parties represent coalitions of economic interests. The working class is more leftist and the bourgeoisie more to the right. There is also, however, a strong correlation between unemployment and support for the neo-fascist National Front among ethnic French while the poorest members of France s Muslim community are more likely pulled towards Islamic extremism. Although the large middle class has moved to the political center, the poorer are moving towards the extremes.

57 Political Economy Throughout its recent history, France has pursued a mild variety of state capitalism (dirigisme). Government planners set economic goals and used the state s financial resources to encourage the private-sector to go along. Many large businesses were at least partially stated owned. Some sectors flourished, but dirigisme also subsidized unprofitable industries. In 1986, the political right privatized many government owned firms, lowered taxes and partially dismembered the state s regulatory structure. Yet, the state remains heavily involved in the economy, employs one out of four workers, and its laws are labor friendly. As a result, foreign investment in France lags behind that in most other EU countries, but strong support for the Socialists in the 2004 regional elections suggest many of the French are not ready to lose the government s social safety net.

58 International Interdependence France has long been a major international player and is a permanent member of the UN Security Council. France is also a member of the G-8 and retains an independent nuclear arsenal. Napoleon s Empire spanned continental Europe and only the UK s eclipsed the scope and size of France s colonial empire. France became a battleground for Europe s two major 20th century wars. Since World War II, France s heavy industry has lost out to the Germans and Japanese forcing it to become more efficient and to scale-back state welfare programs. EU integration is the primary international influence on French politics because almost all areas of the French economic and environmental policies are affected by EU regulations a situation not all French support.

59 International Interdependence As one of the EU s big four France is a major force in shaping European affairs. Without the EU, France s economic situation would fall farther behind reunified Germany. This is why the French rejection of the European Constitution is such a major problem for the Chirac Government as well as for continued EU political integration. Neither the French Government nor the French population supports the 2003 US-led war on Iraq both think the go-it-alone policy was a mistake. The French Government, however, is concerned about Muslim extremists in its midst and has put into place new regulations to allow French security exceptional powers of search and seizure aimed at curbing domestic Islamic-based terrorism.

60 Present Challenges & Future Prospects: Human Rights Although the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen that derived from the 1789 Revolution is one of the world s most progressive documents, the rights of society take precedence over those of individuals in the minds of many French citizens today. The biggest threat to human rights in France now takes the form of racism towards immigrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. It focuses on unemployment, crime and cultural diversity. Immigrants are blamed for their willingness to work for cheaper wages under lower safety standards. They are blamed for France s drug and crime epidemics. And the French resent the resistance of immigrants to becoming French. These resentments take the form of: 1) legal restrictions on immigration, 2) protest votes for racist parties, and community efforts to force immigrants to abandon their own native cultures. Attacks on both Muslims and Jews have increased greatly in recent years both with international ramifications. French women continue to be discriminated against legally vis-à-vis men. Although women gained the vote sixty years ago, violence against women and endemic sexual inequality Source: persist. Palmer 2004

61 Economic Growth, Quality of Life and the Environment France is one of the world s most prosperous countries and its health care system ranked best in the world in Its social welfare system has helped to assure a reasonably fair division of the wealth. The health care system, however, lost $23 billion in 2004 and could collapse by Social security losses are similar in accordance with the aging population. The educational system suffers from a paucity of funds and unemployment remains a persistent problem for youth. Nevertheless, most citizens have economic stakes in retaining the system and the government is slowly and painfully tightening the belt. Environmental protections have increased since the 1960s. Not only have the Socialists embraced environmental concerns, but also the country must comply with stringent EU environmental standards. France, however, continues to develop and export nuclear power generating facilities, retains is own stock of nuclear weapons, and most distressing to French environmentalists reprocesses spent US nuclear Source: Palmer fuel. 2004

62 Future Prospects A France that is stable, democratic, humane, prosperous, equitable and environmentally concerned is the most likely future. The losers are most likely to be immigrants and workers adversely affected by increasing integration Europe s economies. These minorities are most attracted to political extremes, but it is unlikely they will truly threaten France s mature and increasingly centrist democracy.