It was a moment that France’s left had waited 24 years to
see. They came in their thousands, flags, banner, flares all in hand. A
tangible sense of anticipation, verging on impatience filled the air. For the
first time since Francois Mitterand, La Republic had elected a Socialist
president – Francois Hollande, the self-proclaimed “Mr Normal”.
At the start of May, there were elections across Europe, in
Germany, Serbia, Italy, Holland and of course, the UK. But what does this
election mean not just for France but Europe as a whole and the mantras of
“cuts” and “austerity” ringing around much of the globe?
Hollande’s success
condemned his predecessor Nicholas “Sarkozy to the ignominy of being only the
second incumbent not to be re-elected for a second term as president after Valery
Giscard d'estaing, who ironically lost out to Mitterand in 1981 (and who went
on to be re-elected in 1988). Hollande stood on a commitment to increase jobs,
to put 60,000 more teachers in French classrooms, to hault the planned increase
in the retirement age from 60 to 62 and to freeze fuel prices for 3 months.
This was a programme for growth which remained committed to cutting the national
budget deficit to 3% of GDP. How was it to be funded? For starters, there would
be a 30% cut in the presidential salary but the flagship policy is to sign into
law, a 75% income tax threshold for the proportion of anyone’s salary over €1m.
The typical refrains from the Sarkozy camp that this would lead to wealthy
citizens flocking from France and worse
still, into the welcoming arms of the newly re-elected Mayor of London Boris
Johnson, were not enough to deter to French electorate. The only thing the
French electorate wanted to bid adieu to was the Sarkozy austerity programme.
Hollande took 51.63% of the vote, more than 3 points (48.37%) and a million
votes ahead of the incumbent.
For those who have been calling for a change in the austerity-driven
discourse and who favour tax increases over tax breaks for the rich, Hollande’s
victory is a welcome one. That said, the reality remains that a 75% income tax
threshold is (surely) impractical. That being so, Mr Hollande may still have to
work on his numbers.
This election was also the toxic xenophobia and racism that is endemic across much of Europe. Sarkozy and Hollande went into the
presidential run-off with Front National leader, Marie Le Pen snapping at their
heels and leaving Sarkozy concerned that some of his voters would move to the
far right. This perhaps explains his apparent attempt to woo those voters in describing France’s system of integration as “not working” with “too
many foreigners”. Although, given his support for outlawing the Burqa, this
approach is not altogether surprising. Marie Le Pen is herself part of a
far-right political dynasty. Her father, Jean Marie, infamously made the
run-off against President Jacques Chriac in 2002. A time when the hum of
anti-immigration, particularly, anti-Muslim rhetoric reached fever-pitch in the
wake of 9/11.
France
has rejected austerity and endorsed a different approach, a call for change. As recent history shows,
that call is much easier to make than to answer. Maybe, just maybe,
France will prove that when you are in a hole, the only way out is to build.
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