The French lessons on the third way

Andrew Coates, Ipswich CLP, writes about opposition in France to neo-liberalism as preached by Tony Blair.

"A Yellow Brick Road, leading to the Wizard of Oz". That was the reaction of a French commentator in Le Monde to the Third Way as promoted by Tony Blair and Anthony Giddens.

French scepticism is well-founded. In France attempts to create a 'partnership' between the state and the market and to train a workforce for the globalised economy has already run into difficulties. Education Minister Claude Allegre tried to "modernise" the school system, weakening the teachers' unions, employing a flexible workforce, strengthening links with industry, and shifting payment to parents. He glossed over the profound crisis in finance and the growing gap between prosperous and impoverished schools. Under the banner of republican equality hundreds of thousands of school pupils went on strike and paraded throughout France during October.

Enthusiasm for free education, and revulsion at factory-schools producing flexible labour, marked the protests. "We don't want manpower, we want real jobs," one student stated. Disturbances on the early marches were followed by more organised action. Two 'co-ordinations' (ad-hoc coalitions) have clashed, the one led by the FIDEL, close to the Gauche Socialiste (Socialist Party left, which does not participate in the government), and the other close to the League Communiste Revolutionnaire (LCR), the Communist Party and others on the left. With such divisions many students have preferred to operate independently. The movement was backed by members of Allegre's own Socialist Party and others on the Gauche Plurielle (a left split from the PS). Despite concessions offering cash and employing more teachers - the pupils demonstrated on 5th November, under the slogan of "vigilance".

France's Prime Minister Lionel Jospin has a delicate task. The Socialist leader declares he is a "reformist socialist". His government is implementing a 35 hour week. Introduced sector by sector this has helped the pro-Communist union federation, the CGT, to take the initiative. The plan to legitimise all forms of people living together, the pacs, met virulent hostility on the Catholic right and will be brought in slowly.

Nearly all the French left is hostile to globalisation and liberal economics. Jospin supports bold European employment plans and was instrumental in blocking US and British free-trade agreements.

By contrast a section of the republican left toys with the moral authoritarianism of the Third Way - with curfews, tough immigration controls and citizen duties. The government is continuing with partial privatisation of France-Telecom, financial institutions such as the bank, Credit Lyonnais, and public insurance companies. Selling off the second television channel, Antenne 2, is now being debated. With the creation of pension funds and new capital markets many believe France is developing towards an Anglo-Saxon economic model. In Le Monde Diplomatique, Baudru and Maris describe an economy taken over by financial markets, the stock exchange, with labour flexibility and outsourcing. Despite a small economic upturn poverty is growing, and estimates of homelessness reach the figure of 400,000.

On the left the Gauche Socialiste (many of whom are former Trotskyists) and the Communists oppose privatisation. The ecological party, the Verts, have criticised authoritarianism. A broad section supports the continuing fight of the "sans papiers". Next year each main party will offer their own lists for the Euro-Elections - the Greens headed by the pro-Maastricht Daniel Cohn-Bendit (creating divisions with their own socialist wing). On the far left, the LCR has built campaigns among the unemployed, immigrants, and marginalised workers. It is negotiating with Lutte Ouvriere (Workers' Struggle) for a united slate in the Euro-Elections, although a minority in the League is less favourable, preferring wider social movements. Lutte Ouvriere has problems with the charge that its leader, "Mr Hardy" is a ruthless pharmaceutical businessman, Dr Barcia.

In elections the French left has benefited from opposition to globalisation. In government it is in a position to halt Peter Mandelson's plans for a liberalised European Union and a common currency based purely on financial criteria. With the continent now dominated by Social Democracy perhaps it may play a part in making sure that the Third Way is a road never taken.

previous article ·  Dec '98 index of LLB ·  write to LLB ·  LLB home page ·  next article