Les Années Chirac I (1995-2002)
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- Les Années Chirac I (1995-2002)
- 1995 Presidential Elections
- The left was traumatised by the defeat in 1993 General election
- The PS thought they had little hope of winning, and so put forward Lionel Jospin as a token candidate
- Jospin wanted the left to be more honest and get back to their roots as a party for the people
- The PS had been criticised as having left their core electorate behind
- Former education minister
- Had problems with charisma
- Was a massive shock when Jospin got through to the second round with 23.3% of the votes
- Mitterrand had left a big gap as he had been the leader of the left for over 25years
- Jospin wanted the left to be more honest and get back to their roots as a party for the people
- The PS thought they had little hope of winning, and so put forward Lionel Jospin as a token candidate
- The RPR had two candidates in the first round
- Jaques Chirac
- Chirac took the role of the more progressive candidate
- Due to the fact that there was a rival candidate on the right from the RPR, Chirac was bale to distance himself from his conservative base to adopt a more liberal stance
- Campaign was 'fresh'- JC tried to convey the sense of a new beginning
- Rassembler, Partarger, Renouveau
- Jospin and Chirac went through to the second round with 23.3% and 20.84% respectively
- HOWEVER in the first round Jean-Marie Le Pen got 15% of the votes, and it was clear that the FN's popularity was rising
- Chirac won the election with 52.64% of the vote. Possibly benefitted from the voters who voted for Balladur and other parties in the first round
- Campaign was 'fresh'- JC tried to convey the sense of a new beginning
- Due to the fact that there was a rival candidate on the right from the RPR, Chirac was bale to distance himself from his conservative base to adopt a more liberal stance
- Chirac took the role of the more progressive candidate
- Edouard Balladur
- Jaques Chirac
- The left was traumatised by the defeat in 1993 General election
- Alain Juppé's Government
- Former Minister of Foreign Affairs for Balladur's government, Alain Juppé was named JC's new PM
- Had the difficult task of carrying out reforms in order to fulfil Chirac's election promises of a 'new beginning' for France
- Reform France's costly health and pensions system
- At the time, Civil Servants had very generous retirement conditions, with some people being able to retire in their 50s
- Both the health and pensions system were in severe defecit
- Needed to reduce the State deficit in order for France to meet the EU requirements for the single currency
- In December 1995, public protests and strikes against the government were the biggest carried out since May 1968
- Against the social security reforms
- Put the country to a standstill for an entire month and was supported by the major unions (CGT, CFDT, FO)
- Juppé initially took a very firm stance on the reforms, using the expression "être droit dans ses bottes" (digging your heels ni)
- HOWEVER, he eventually had to give in
- The people felt as JC had betrayed his campaign which was led on a basis of 'fracture sociale' (social divide) and anti-austerity, in which he promised to reduce the gap between the rich and poor
- No government until now has tried to revisit these reforms due to the severe backlash they received
- Strikes happened only 6 months after the election
- The people felt as JC had betrayed his campaign which was led on a basis of 'fracture sociale' (social divide) and anti-austerity, in which he promised to reduce the gap between the rich and poor
- HOWEVER, he eventually had to give in
- Juppé initially took a very firm stance on the reforms, using the expression "être droit dans ses bottes" (digging your heels ni)
- In December 1995, public protests and strikes against the government were the biggest carried out since May 1968
- Reform France's costly health and pensions system
- Had the difficult task of carrying out reforms in order to fulfil Chirac's election promises of a 'new beginning' for France
- Former Minister of Foreign Affairs for Balladur's government, Alain Juppé was named JC's new PM
- Foreign Policy
- Chirac was very proactive in terms of international affairs
- JC supports the UN's active intervention in former Yougolsalvia
- Civil war- JC tries to aid in diffusing the tension with the acceptance of the 'Rapid Reaction Force' in the UN
- Had a plan for the modernisation of the French Army
- Put an end to conscription for 18 year olds
- Phased it out between 1995-2002, trimmed down the French Army to make it more efficient
- Put an end to conscription for 18 year olds
- Had a plan for the modernisation of the French Army
- Civil war- JC tries to aid in diffusing the tension with the acceptance of the 'Rapid Reaction Force' in the UN
- JC supports the UN's active intervention in former Yougolsalvia
- Controversy when JC resumed nuclear testing of French missles in the Pacific Ocean
- Testing had been suspended by Mitterrand
- Real anti-French backlash in the USA by anti-nuclear war supporters
- Was a boycott of French products
- JC was in charge of implementing the Euro in France
- Relations in the Middle-East and Israeli-Palestinian were tense
- JC openly supported Plaestine and fell out with the Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu
- Relations in the Middle-East and Israeli-Palestinian were tense
- JC was in charge of implementing the Euro in France
- France was isolated form the international community for a while
- After several months, Chirac decided to stop testing and reversed the policy
- Was a boycott of French products
- Chirac was very proactive in terms of international affairs
- The 1997 Dissolution
- Juppe's reforms did not succeed and he had to back down
- There was a record level of unpopularity for Juppé's cabinet and JC's presidency
- JC argued that he needed a fresh majority in order to be able to carry out reforms
- The French people were dubious about this, and thought that he was planning another austerity plan.
- The public weren't convinced by AJ's arguments and so voted to change the majority
- The FN also played a major role in taking a lot of votes from the RPR and UDF's majority
- After the victory of the labour party on 1st May 1997 in the UK, it was the turn of the French left to take back power on 1st June 1997
- JC lost his majority barely 2 years after he was elected
- After the victory of the labour party on 1st May 1997 in the UK, it was the turn of the French left to take back power on 1st June 1997
- The French people were dubious about this, and thought that he was planning another austerity plan.
- In March 1997, Chirac announces a surprising decision to dissolve the Assemblée National
- Juppe's reforms did not succeed and he had to back down
- There was a record level of unpopularity for Juppé's cabinet and JC's presidency
- JC argued that he needed a fresh majority in order to be able to carry out reforms
- The French people were dubious about this, and thought that he was planning another austerity plan.
- The public weren't convinced by AJ's arguments and so voted to change the majority
- The FN also played a major role in taking a lot of votes from the RPR and UDF's majority
- After the victory of the labour party on 1st May 1997 in the UK, it was the turn of the French left to take back power on 1st June 1997
- JC lost his majority barely 2 years after he was elected
- After the victory of the labour party on 1st May 1997 in the UK, it was the turn of the French left to take back power on 1st June 1997
- The French people were dubious about this, and thought that he was planning another austerity plan.
- Juppe's reforms did not succeed and he had to back down
- Juppe's reforms did not succeed and he had to back down
- The "Gauche Pluriel"
- The victory of the French left meant that JC was forced to "cohabiter"
- This was the longest period of cohabitation in French history as it lasted 5 years
- Previous cohabitations had only lasted 2
- The new "red, pink and green" coalition was named the "gauche plurielle
- It was made up of the socialists, communists and the greens
- This was the longest period of cohabitation in French history as it lasted 5 years
- Lionel Jospin, leader of the PS, was named the new PM
- The coalitation was named "plurielle" as all the parties didn't necessarily always share the same opinions but they did have a lot of common values
- The victory of the French left meant that JC was forced to "cohabiter"
- Jospin's government
- Lasted between 1997-2002
- Lionel Jospin, leader of the PS, was named the new PM
- The coalitation was named "plurielle" as all the parties didn't necessarily always share the same opinions but they did have a lot of common values
- Lionel Jospin, leader of the PS, was named the new PM
- JC was considerably weakened politically by the defeat and very criticised
- This meant that the president adopted a lax role and Jospin's government became more involved in France's affairs
- The Guache Plurielle was lucky as from 1998 the economy improved and there was a restart of growth
- In 1998, unemployment went down for the first time in 7 years
- The World cup effect in 1998 also had a huge impact on government popularity, which rose
- This created a very positive climate in France and was good for the economy
- The World cup effect in 1998 also had a huge impact on government popularity, which rose
- In 1998, unemployment went down for the first time in 7 years
- On 1st January 2002, Chirac and Jospin celebrated the introduction of the Euro and the replacement of the Franc
- The main measure of the Jospin government was the introduction of the 35 hour working week
- Replaced the previous 39 hour week
- Jospin used this policy as he thought it would aid job creation
- The rationale was that less hours would mean that there would be more jobs available and therefore a fall in unemployment
- Overall, over the 5 years of the Guache Pulrielle , France was economically prosperous
- Unemployment reduced significantly
- HOWEVER, it could be said that these were just surface level measures, the true causes of unemployment were not addressed
- In the 2001 financial crash, these measures fell through and unemployment increased again
- HOWEVER, it could be said that these were just surface level measures, the true causes of unemployment were not addressed
- Unemployment reduced significantly
- Overall, over the 5 years of the Guache Pulrielle , France was economically prosperous
- The rationale was that less hours would mean that there would be more jobs available and therefore a fall in unemployment
- Jospin also created 150,000 "emplois-jeunes" in the public sector
- The aim was to help young French people re-enter into the job market
- These jobs were subsidised by the government and reserved for young people
- Creation of the PACS (Pacte Civile de Solidarité) was created
- Allowed the civil union of same-sex couples in France
- There was a referendum on the reduction of the presidential term from 7 to 5years on 24th September 2000
- 73.21% of French people approved the reform
- HOWEVER there was only 30% turnout- which was very low
- 73.21% of French people approved the reform
- A law stating that an equal number of Men and Women should be in French political life
- Loi sur la parité
- The main measure of the Jospin government was the introduction of the 35 hour working week
- Lasted between 1997-2002
- 2002 Presidential Elections
- The 2002 elections had a very sombre tone
- Since the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers, L'insécurité (petty crime and violence) had become the number 1 priority of the French
- JC, who was running for his second term, accused LJ of being too lax on security when he was PM
- Chirac couldn't campaign on the economy as LJ had done a good job in regards to that aspect and so instead focuses on l'insécurité
- LJ had difficulties defending himself and committed a grave error when he admitted he had been a little niave on l'insécurité
- There was also a weariness surrounding cohabitation
- The public believed that the president would either be Chirac or Jospin
- This boredom with the current political landscape may have encouraged voters to stay at home
- The left wasn't united at all, and Jospin was severely weakened by this
- By contrast, the right united under JC
- In 2002, the RPR and the majority of UDF MP's decided to merge into one party under JC (UMP)
- Union pour la majorité présedentielle
- After the elections it became Union pour un Mouvement Populaire
- Union pour la majorité présedentielle
- In 2002, the RPR and the majority of UDF MP's decided to merge into one party under JC (UMP)
- By contrast, the right united under JC
- The public believed that the president would either be Chirac or Jospin
- There was also a weariness surrounding cohabitation
- JC, who was running for his second term, accused LJ of being too lax on security when he was PM
- Was a climate of fear
- Since the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers, L'insécurité (petty crime and violence) had become the number 1 priority of the French
- JC, who was running for his second term, accused LJ of being too lax on security when he was PM
- Chirac couldn't campaign on the economy as LJ had done a good job in regards to that aspect and so instead focuses on l'insécurité
- LJ had difficulties defending himself and committed a grave error when he admitted he had been a little niave on l'insécurité
- There was also a weariness surrounding cohabitation
- The public believed that the president would either be Chirac or Jospin
- This boredom with the current political landscape may have encouraged voters to stay at home
- The left wasn't united at all, and Jospin was severely weakened by this
- By contrast, the right united under JC
- In 2002, the RPR and the majority of UDF MP's decided to merge into one party under JC (UMP)
- Union pour la majorité présedentielle
- After the elections it became Union pour un Mouvement Populaire
- Union pour la majorité présedentielle
- In 2002, the RPR and the majority of UDF MP's decided to merge into one party under JC (UMP)
- By contrast, the right united under JC
- The public believed that the president would either be Chirac or Jospin
- There was also a weariness surrounding cohabitation
- JC, who was running for his second term, accused LJ of being too lax on security when he was PM
- Since the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers, L'insécurité (petty crime and violence) had become the number 1 priority of the French
- Since the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers, L'insécurité (petty crime and violence) had become the number 1 priority of the French
- It came a a HUGE shock when Lionel Jospin was eliminated in the first round by Jean-Marie le Pen
- Could be seen as a demonstration that the root causes of racism in France had not been addressed by the government
- This was a blessing in disguise for Chirac as all parties rallied behind him in order to prevent the FN getting into power
- On 5th May 2002, JC was reelected for 5 years with 82.21% of the vote
- JM-lP only got 17.79% of the vote
- On 5th May 2002, JC was reelected for 5 years with 82.21% of the vote
- The 2002 elections had a very sombre tone
- 1995 Presidential Elections
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