[PEN-L:1810] Re: Good News from France

["A. S. Fatemi" <fatemi@xxxxxx>]

On Wed, 6 Dec 1995, Behzad Yaghmaian wrote:

>
>
> On Wed, 6 Dec 1995, James Devine wrote:
>
> > "The strike by transport workers and other public employees has
> > paralyzed France since Nov. 24 ...
> >
> > "But what has really shocked President Jacquez Chirac and his
> > prime minister, Alain Juppe, is broad sympathy among ordinary
> > French citizens for the strike -- illustrated by the hundres of
> > thousands who joined more huge protest marches across the nation
> > Tuesday -- and the level of antipaty for the president they
> > elected six months ago.
> >
> > "Instead of becoming angry at the strikers, most French are angry
> > at the government. Very angry. Candidate Chirac promised them
> > more jobs and higher salaries. President Chirac is demanding
> > major sacrifices in the sacrosanct state welfare system to reduce
> > its soaring deficit, and he has flatly refused to back down."
> >
> > -- "Public Support for Strike Stuns French Leaders," by Scott
> > Kraft, L.A. TIMES, Dec. 6, 1995.
> >
> > No only is this good news, but it suggests that Daniel Singer's
> > view that French politics became "Americanized" under Mitterand,
> > though seemingly right at the electoral level, is wrong at the
> > grassroots level.
> >
> > in pen-l solidarity,
> >
> > Jim Devine   jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ.
> > 7900 Loyola Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045-8410 USA
> > 310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950
> > "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way
> > and let people talk.) -- K. Marx, paraphrasing Dante A.
> >
> >
> Jim,
>
> Thank you for posting the news about France.  I was looking for something
> like this in the past few days.
>
> The struggles in France are around the very same issues we are facing
> here.  Here is a role model for us.  We will be discussing this in an NYC
> student coalition meeting next Saturday.  We in the U.S. need to widely
> discuss the French events on our campuses and work places.
>
> Does anybody have access to NET addresses in France?  It would be great
> to get first hand information from friends in France.
>
> Behzad
>

Behzad asks if there is any friend on the list from France. I guess I
qualify. However, I don't see the issues exactly the way you describe it
from the US. The questions in the current strikes in France can not be
looked at in a simplistic left and right context. As you might remember,
one of the legacies of the Mitterand's 14-year presidency was the
Maastricht Treaty of 1992. He and his socialist governments went every
step of the way with Chancellor Kohl and his conservative regime in order
to push the referandum for the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty which
made the monetarist-based European Monetary Union(EMU) the law of the
land. As you well know, in international law treaties take precedence
over national law. The architect of this EMU was another socialist(a
former minister of Mitterand) Mr. Jacque Delors who served as the
President of the European Commission(roughly similar to prime-minister
of Europe, for 10 years.

According to this document which was fully and whole-heartedly embraced
by the socialists of France, the following criteria of convergence were
essential for joining the EMU by 1997(later changed to 1999):

INFLATION RATE		Should not exceed more than 1.5% higher than the
			average inflation rate of 3 nations with the lowest
			inflation rate.

INTEREST RATE		Long-term interest rate should not be more than
			2% higher than the average observed in the 3 countries
			with the lowest inflation rate

BUDGET DEFICIT		Should not be higher than 3% of the GDP

GOVERNMENT DEBT		Should be more than 60% of GDP

DEVALUATION		There should be no devaluation in the preceeding
			2 years.

The conservative government of Chirac has pledged itself to the
continuation of the path chosen by the previous government headed by Mr.
Mitterand. Currently the budget deficit of France is above 5% of its GDP.
The public sector, for many years has been the employer of last resort.
There are about 5 million public employees in France(population of the
country-55 million). Choices available: continuing with the present
reforms or getting out of Maastricht- both of these choices merit long
debates. France needs reforms. The Right can't do it and the Left won't
do it!>



A. S. Fatemis
Department of Economics
The American University of Paris
31 ave Bosquet
75007 Paris

Tel:	(33) 1 40 62 06 40
Fax:	(33) 1 47 05 33 49