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ical isolation in the world- includ–
ing uni lateral nuclear disarmament
and withdrawal from Europe's
Common Market.
And No r thern l relan d , Too
Beyond economic stresses a nd
political di vis ions, there is, of
course, the grim di lemma of what
to do about Northern l reland. The
underground Iris h Republica n
Army ( IRA) succeeded in gaining
international sympathy for its hun–
ger strikers at Maze Prison near
Belfast. The Brit ish government
would not give in to the inmates'
demands for pol itical prisoner s ta–
tus, s tressing that citizens of other
countr ies simply d id not fu lly
FRANCE
Choosing a New
Direction
The mos t impo r tant evcnt in
Francc this past year wa<> thc presi–
dential election upset in which
Socialist Fran<;ois Mitterrand de–
feated the incumbent.
The victory of Mr. Mitterrand
marked the firs t time a Socialist
president was elected with full
execut ive powers.
lt
ended 23 years
of rule by conservative govern–
me nts since Charles de Gaulle
established the Fifth Republic in
1958.
Changlng Mood
Frenc h voters felt it was simply
time for a c hange. Many were
apparently turned off by what was
viewed by sorne as the aloofness
and monarchical style of Yalery
Giscard d 'Estaing. At the same
time they were impressed by Mr.
Mitterrand 's down-to-earth cam–
paigning. Underlying it all, howev–
er, was the electorate's concern
about the economy-specifically
hi gh unemployment and ri sing
inflation.
T he new economic policies of the
Mitterrand government constitute
a major overhaul of the French
economy. Not that t h ings were
entirely bad under Giscard . Under
his Jeadership the French economy
44
understand the ser ious nature of
the crimes committed by the ter–
rorists.
Will Britain be able to success–
fully resolve the mushrooming eco–
nomic and social problems that
have combined to plunge her
peoples into their darkest hour
since World War IJ?
Pessimists are warning of the
possibility of three digit inflation,
an incredible brain drain to other
countries and an unbelievable run
on the pound in foreign exchange
markets.
Are these things impossible ?
Before last year's riots, most Br i–
tons believed what one newspaper
reporter so succinctly expressed,
was growing at a faster rate than
even that of West Ge rmany. Over
the past few years the government
was guiding France out of such ail–
ing sectors as steel production and
sh ipbuilding and into the more
promising high technology indus–
tries.
It
hoped to make France a
world leader in this field within 1
O
years.
" Bri tain has been, remains, and
will forever be the most civil socie–
ty on earth ." T his attitude of cer–
tainty is now beginning to crum–
ble!
-Frank Brown and
John Ross Schroeder
create new jobs, bui ld low-cost
apartments, increase social security,
old-age pensions and the national
mínimum wage were among the
measures immediately announced.
Nationalization of large por tions of
industry and banking promise to
make France the most social ized
major nation in the noncommunist
wor ld.
Concerning this redistribution of
income and economic power, one
Socialist thinker said: "We see it all
as a matter of class s truggle.
What's good for the working class
is good for France."
lt
is obvious that Mr. Mitterrand
is a man with a plan. Will it work?
The Socialists, of course, think it
will. Others say it will not and that
inflation will explode out of con–
trol. They see France going clown
the same road as Britain.
Fo relgn Po lic y Shift
As far as foreign policy is con–
cerned, although President Mitter–
'-------......0:.---------'"'
rand maintains a hard line against
Still, growing unemployment and
inflation were of immediate concern
to the voters. The effor ts of the new
gqvernment to deal with these dual
problems put France's economic pol–
icies on a collision course with the
policies of Washington, London and
Bonn. Whereas the policies of the
Jatter three are to fight inflation by
holding down public spending, the
Mitterrand strategy is to stimulate
economic growt h. Programs to
the Soviets, the inclusion of Com–
muni sts in his cabinet has dis–
pleased the United States.
The French Socialists have a
much different view than does the
Reagan administration, not on ly
toward economic fre.e enterprise,
but to " liberation" movements in
the Third Wor ld . The new govern–
ment is also favorably disposed
toward the state of Israel.
-Clayton Steep
The
PLAIN TRUTH