Financial Times writer Gideon Rachman devotes his column today to an extended discussion of the parallels between what we will probably come to call Sarkozyism and the Thatcherism that Brits of my age and above remember only too well, if not exactly fondly.
The message is that Sarko - pictured - means business and, yes, there is plenty of argy-bargy in the offing:
There is a real risk of social unrest, as France's new president tries to deliver on his promise of "rupture" with the past.
Mr Sarkozy knows that three prime ministers of the Chirac era - Alain Juppé, Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Dominique de Villepin - were forced to abandon economic reforms in the face of popular demonstrations. But he is determined that things will be different this time. One member of the Sarkozy inner circle argues that previous rounds of reform failed because President Jacques Chirac lost his nerve. With "Nicolas" in the Élysée Palace, things will be different.
The new president will certainly need nerves of steel because the reforms he hopes to push through in his first 100 days in office could almost be designed to antagonise every strike-happy interest group in the country.
The public-sector unions are already making threatening noises about the plan to mandate minimum levels of service on public transport during strikes. Mr Sarkozy's pledge to introduce a more flexible work contract - making it easier to hire and fire - puts back on the table the issue that provoked the last big anti-reform demonstrations. His promised reform of the 35-hour working week will also be seen as an attack on semi-sacred "social rights".
Students could be angered by Mr Sarkozy's promise to grant universities more autonomy. Some will see that as a mandate for higher fees and tougher entrance requirements. Mr Sarkozy is well aware that student demonstrations have caused massive upheaval in France before - even the mighty de Gaulle lost his nerve in the face of the demonstrations of May 1968.
The biggest powder kegs in France are the run-down, immigrant housing estates that ring Paris and other large cities. It was these estates that experienced three consecutive weeks of rioting in 2005 - and Mr Sarkozy is deeply unpopular among some residents after infamously describing rioters as "scum"…
Interesting, Rachman argues that the social crisis in France today – from the point of view of the bourgeoisie – is not as pervasive as it was in the Britain of the late seventies/early eighties.
There hasn’t been the experience of the International Monetary Fund bail out, and while there have been plenty of strikes, industrial militancy is not on the scale seen in the Winter of Discontent.
Then comes what I found to be the most striking paragraph in the entire piece:
The second major difference between the Thatcher and Sarkozy programmes is that the new French president has promised to get cracking in his first 100 days in office. By contrast, Lady Thatcher moved quite cautiously. It was only after her second electoral victory - and the huge boost gained after winning the Falklands war - that she embarked on her biggest battle with the unions and the miners.
In other words, whichever way this is going to pan out, we are going to find out sooner rather than later.
Comments (4)
Yep, the fun and games are only just beginning...
"Sarkozyism"... Aaaah, what an awful term. Sounds like a form of cancer.
I think it is a bit sarkastic myself!
Why not just call it neo-liberalism en Francais - the left should have never swallowed the Thatcherism name tag. It is a catch all and personalisation when in fact it is neo-liberalism, not Thatcherism and Blairism which is the dominant ideology.
I'll step down from my soap box and go home!
Your account of Thatcher's first term as prime minister isn't entirely accurate. The attack on conditions in the public sector provoked a three month steel strike in 1980 and then major disputes in the civil service, health service and on the railways. Not forgetting the major U-turn over coal in 1981.
And the massive jump in unemployment was in the first term, I believe
Forgot to mention the sackings of Derek robinson and Alan Thornett too