PROTESTS IN FRANCE

Saksar Sawasth Aur secular Haryana
Vibrant Student And Workers Movement In France
US fashion magazine ‘Vanity Fair’ ranked the ‘smart’ French President Nicolas Sarkozy to be the 68th best-dressed person in the world along with Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt and English soccer hero David Beckham. Like the pied piper of Hamlin, Nicolas Sarkozy initially enchanted eminent figures on all sides with his verve and brio. The media were equally spellbound and joined in the mass hysteria. France was virtually hypnotised by their new president. .

The scales began to fall from everyone’s eyes when the true nature of the sideshow was revealed. The magician was just a neo-liberal in disguise. This was clear from the first economic and social measures announced: reductions in tax on high incomes and death duties, a tax shield, medical franchises, longer working hours – the essence of neo-liberalism. And it was even clearer from Sarkozy’s speeches on September 5, at the Medef (Mouvement des entreprises de France) business seminar, and on September 18, the 40th anniversary of the AJIS, the association of social security reporters.

Sarkozy said that his government’s priority was to deal with the question of special pension schemes. According to him reforms in that sector was necessary without delay. He also declared of reviewing the Health service funding because the health insurance system could not cover everything. Some costs should be met by individual insurance schemes. In other words, patients must have private insurance as they do in the United States, where almost 50 million people have no health cover.

Sarkozy repeated that the 35-hour week rule would have to be abolished. He also proposed to end early retirement schemes, and introduce stronger and more effective procedures and sanctions against unemployed people who refused two job offers. The Left condemned it as the greatest offensive to be mounted against the social security system in 50 years and urged the French people to rise in all-round protests.