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rug

(82,333 posts) Wed Jun 8, 2016, 08:24 AM Jun 2016

The Civil War on France’s Left

The prime minister thinks his attempt to implement labor reform despite labor unrest is a test case for socialism in power.

A blockade at the oil depot in Douchy-Les-Mines, France, last month. PHOTO: NURPHOTO/ZUMA PRESS

By SOPHIE PEDDER
June 7, 2016 3:20 p.m. ET

To the casual observer, the drama playing out on the streets of France looks to be following a well-rehearsed script. It features protests and strikes, illegal blockades and burning tires, riot police, torched cars and tear gas. You will know the final act has come when the French government, as in 1995 or 2006, eventually backs down—in this case, over a labor law that would decentralize collective bargaining and undermine France’s rigid 35-hour workweek.

The current stand-off between Paris and its hard-line unions is unusual in one crucial respect. Its protagonists are all from the left. At stake isn’t just a piece of legislation, but control of the Socialist Party and the electoral future of the French left.

At center stage are two figures: Manuel Valls, the reformist Socialist prime minister, and Philippe Martinez, the leader of General Confederation of Labor, or CGT, France’s biggest and most militant union. Both men are in their 50s, of Spanish origin and, incidentally, supporters of the FC Barcelona soccer team. But the similarities stop there.

Not a graduate of France’s elite schools, Mr. Valls has spent more time than most thinking hard about modern social democracy, well before he got his current job. He has called his party passéiste (“outdated”), once campaigned to drop the word “socialist” from its name, and entered politics to support Michel Rocard, a moderate former prime minister, for whom he later worked.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-civil-war-on-frances-left-1465327224

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The Civil War on France’s Left (Original Post) rug Jun 2016 OP

Sounds a little like Bernie vs Clinton. Nitram Jun 2016 #1

There are some similarities Xithras Jun 2016 #2

Nitram

(22,877 posts)

1. Sounds a little like Bernie vs Clinton.

Reply to rug (Original post)

Wed Jun 8, 2016, 10:34 AM

Jun 2016

Xithras

(16,191 posts)

2. There are some similarities

Reply to rug (Original post)

Wed Jun 8, 2016, 01:36 PM

Jun 2016

But both of them are far to the left of both Bernie and Clinton. France is so far left that even their "right wing" political parties often make American Democrats look conservative, in comparison.

But, at a different level, there are similarieties. Much like the Clintons ushered in the "third way" era that mixed liberal politics with globalism and corporatism, Valls is trying to usher in something called the "second left", which is basically a globalist-corporatist friendly version of more moderate socialism. He also supports things like raising the retirement age, and stripping immigrants of financial support.

Martinez is more of a classical socialist, and his focus is simply on improving the lives of working people. He wants shorter workdays, continued government regulation on business, solid pay and benefits for everyone that needs them, etc.

The real difference is that France is already solidly in Martinez's camp, and Valls is trying to pull it rightward. This is a reversal of the situation in the United States, where our political and economic systems are already centrist and free market oriented, and Sanders is trying to pull it to the left.

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