Berlin.. Le Pen’s camp is behind, the French have strengthened the left. A famous president also came from the camp.
Fears about a shift to the right France the french have this cancelled at the last minute. The left wing emerged victorious in the second round of the parliamentary elections. In recent years, it has been mainly the conservatives and Emmanuel Macron’s party that have determined policy – always from the shadows Marina Le Pen.
But during the Fifth Republic there were two phases in which social democracy socialist party (PS) was in power. Most recently, it provided the president from 2012 to 2017, namely François Hollande. But the best-known representative is probably the president Francois Mitterrand who was head of state from 1981 to 1995. Five social democratic prime ministers served under his aegis alone:
- Pierre Mauroy (1981 – 1984)
- Laurent Fabio (1984 – 1986)
- Michel Rocard (1988 – 1991)
- Édith Cresson (1991 – 1992, was the first woman to hold this position since the beginning of the Fifth Republic)
- Pierre Beregovoy (1992 – 1993)
However, this also happened under Mitterrand for a so-called “cohabitation”: Two right-wing conservative heads of government from the “Rassemblement Pour La République” party, namely Jacques Chirac (1986 – 1988) and Édouard Balladour (1993 – 1995), served as Prime Minister in the Social Democrat government.
France: This is what François Mitterand stood for
Above all, Mauroy’s first social democratic cabinet implemented clear left-wing positions: with the help of the absolute parliamentary majority for the alliance of the PS, the communists and the left-liberal movement “Mouvement des radicaux de gauche”, Mauroy and Mitterand led a minimum wage a. In addition, pensions were increased and families received state benefits. Several banks and private companies were nationalized under Mitterrand. All this happened under the impression of an economic crisis with high inflation and mass unemployment, a consequence of the oil crisis in the 1970s. In 1983, however, the president had to make a change in economic policy (“la rigueur”), also because the data did not improve. The coalition with the communists collapsed and the second cabinet implemented severe austerity measures – ultimately with success.
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In the years that followed, Mitterrand was responsible for a number of issues Scandals including the sinking of the Greenpeace ship “Rainbow Warrior”, the laying of wreaths to a French supporter of the National Socialists and questionable money flows.
Capital Inside by Jörg Quoos, Editor-in-Chief of the FUNKE Central Editorial Team
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The second social-democratic president of the fifth republic, Francois Hollandewas in office from 2012 to 2017. The now 69-year-old led the Socialist Party for eleven years. He took over the leadership role from the failed Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. According to polls, after years with the rather colorful President Nicolas Sarkozy, the French were yearning for a “normal” head of state.
Right-wing populist Bardella accuses other parties of an “alliance of shame”.
France: The tide turns for an unhappy president
Hollande raised the top tax rate to 75 percent (which was later ruled illegal and repealed by the Constitutional Council). Under his leadership, the government ran up a lot of debt—by the end of 2012, the debt ratio was 90.2 percent of gross domestic product. The unemployment rate also remained high. The man from Rouen in northern France was a rather unhappy president. French people was considered a “lame duck.” Ultimately, Hollande decided not to run for president a second time.
Now, seven years later, the tide appears to have turned for Hollande. In the most recent parliamentary elections, on July 7, he won his constituency in the Corrèze department in southwestern France, well ahead of the candidate. National RallySome members of the Socialist Party were already considering him a possible new prime minister. But on election night, Hollande waved his hand: “To be in a government, do you still have to be a candidate to lead it? Not me. He could still play a leading role. After all, the left now depends on experienced political personnel.”