To what extent can the Thatcher-type reforms be applied in France or adapted to France?

Résumé du document

During the past twelve years, three of Jacques Chirac's Prime ministers -Alain Juppé, Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Dominique de Villepin- decided to reform but backed out in the face of protests. The election of a new President, who claimed that he was the candidate for change, during the whole campaign, can thus appear as a turning-point. In July 2007, during the presidential campaign, Nicolas Sarkozy said « I'm neither Thatcher nor Reagan ». Yet in November 2007, the economist published an article entitled « Sarkozy's Thatcher moment ». It is therefore interesting to wonder if Nicolas Sarkozy can become France's Margaret Thatcher. In other words, with the arrival of N. Sarkozy, to what extent can the Thatcher-type reforms be applied in France, or adapted to France?

Extraits

[...] In sum, Thatcher-type reforms could be adapted to France, with certain limits. Perhaps N. Sarkozy will manage to reform France as M. Thatcher did in Great-Britain but he will have to overcome several obstacles. Besides, N. Sarkozy's determination is not enough; to reform France, he will need some luck, like M. Thatcher. However, maybe the main concern is not to know how we can adapt Thatcher-type reforms to France, but to know if it would be good for France to apply such reforms. [...]

[...] To what extent can the Thatcher-type reforms be applied in France or adapted to France? During the past twelve years, three of Jacques Chirac's Prime ministers -Alain Juppé, Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Dominique de Villepin- decided to reform but backed down in the face of protests. The election of a new President, who claimed during the whole campaign that he was the candidate for change, can thus appear as a turning-point. In July 2007, during the presidential campaign, Nicolas Sarkozy said I'm neither Thatcher nor Reagan Yet in November 2007, The economist published an article entitled Sarkozy's Thatcher moment It is therefore interesting to wonder if Nicolas Sarkozy can become France's Margaret Thatcher. [...]

[...] Thatcher knew that Edward Heath had twice taken on the miners and that he had lost, leaving his government discredited; that's why she prepared the ground for her own clash. Likewise, N. Sarkozy knows what happened to Jacques Chirac in the 1990's and seems determined not to repeat his practice of making unwise concessions. The previous British Prime minister and the actual French President therefore share similar values, aims and methods. Both of them also represent change. Between 1964 and 1979 in England and between 1981 and 2002 in France, the political colour changed at each election. [...]

[...] Many parameters, such as cultural and historical differences between Great-Britain and France, indicate that it will be quite difficult to adapt the Thatcher-type reforms to France. First, the situations in Great-Britain in 1979 and in France in 2007 are very different. Indeed, the intensity of the crisis was much higher in Britain than it is in France. France is not comparable with the very economically sick Great Britain of the 1970's where there was an obligation to reform. In France, with the Euro, there are alternatives to shock treatment. [...]

[...] This is, to my mind, one of the main obstacles to the application of Thatcher-type reforms in France. But the biggest obstacle is probably linked to cultural and historical differences between the two countries. French people are very attached to their (concerning the pensions or the working time for instance), probably more than the British were in the 1980's. A recent poll also found that the majority of the French don't favour the market economy. Besides, in France, the political system weakens parliament and gives the president extraordinary power. [...]