Editing François Mitterrand (section)

==Presidency==

===First term: 1981–1988===
[[File:Poul Schlüter, Margaret Thatcher & François Mitterrand - 1983.jpg|thumb|Mitterrand (right) with Danish Prime Minister [[Poul Schlüter|Schlüter]] and British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher]], 1983]]
[[File:François Mitterrand and Ronald Reagan (r.) 1984.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Mitterrand with U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]], 1984]]
In the [[1981 French presidential election|presidential election of 10 May 1981]], François Mitterrand became the first socialist President of the Fifth Republic, and his government became the first left-wing government in 23 years. He named [[Pierre Mauroy]] as prime minister and organised a new [[1981 French legislative election|legislative election]]. The Socialists obtained an absolute parliamentary majority, and four Communists joined the cabinet.

====Economic policy====
The beginning of his first term was marked by a left-wing [[economic policy]] based on the [[110 Propositions for France]] and the 1972 Common Programme between the Socialist Party, the [[Communist Party (France)|Communist Party]] and the [[Left Radical Party]]. This included several nationalizations, a 10% increase in the ''[[salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance|SMIC]]'' (minimum wage), a 39-hour work week, 5 weeks holiday per year, the creation of the [[solidarity tax on wealth]], an increase in social benefits, and the extension of workers' rights to consultation and information about their employers (through the [[Jean Auroux|Auroux Act]]). The objective was to boost economic demand and thus economic activity ([[Keynesianism]]), but the stimulative fiscal policy implemented by the Mauroy government was in contradiction with the constrained [[monetary policy]] implemented by the [[Bank of France]].<ref>Reichart, Alexandre (2015). "[http://www.jeeh.it/articolo?urn=urn:abi:abi:RIV.JOU:2015;1.11 French Monetary Policy (1981–1985), A Constrained Policy, between Volcker Shock, the EMS and Macroeconomic Imbalances] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629113231/http://www.jeeh.it/articolo?urn=urn:abi:abi:RIV.JOU:2015;1.11 |date=29 June 2016 }}". ''Journal of European Economic History''. ISSN 0391-5115, 44(1), pp. 11–46.</ref> However, unemployment continued to grow, and the [[French Franc|franc]] was devalued three times.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lombard|first=Marc|date=April 1995|title=A re-examination of the reasons for the failure of Keynesian expansionary policies in France, 1981–1983|journal=Cambridge Journal of Economics|volume=19|issue=2|pages=359–372|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.cje.a035318}}</ref>

Old age pensions were raised by 300 francs per month to 1,700 francs for a single person and to 3,700 francs for a couple, while health insurance benefits were made more widely available to unemployed persons and part-time employees. Housing allocations for the low-paid were raised by 25% in 1981, and in the two years following May 1981 family allowances were increased by 44% for families with 3 children and by 81% for families with 2 children. In 1981, the purchasing power of social transfers went up by 4.5% and by 7.6% in 1982. In addition, the minimum wage (which affected 1.7&nbsp;million employees) was increased by 15% in real terms between May 1981 and December 1982.<ref>''Socialism, the State and Public Policy'' in France edited by Philip G. Cerny and Martin A. Schain</ref>

Major efforts were made to improve access to housing and health care, while the government also attempted to tackle working-class under-achievement in schools by reinforcing the comprehensive system, modernising the curriculum and reducing [[Streaming (education)|streaming]]. As a means of increasing political participation, the government increased the financial allowances of local politicians, who also became entitled to paid leave from their jobs to attend courses in public administration. Allowances for the handicapped were improved, while improvements were also made in the pay and conditions for those serving in the army. A decree of January 1982 provided for "solidarity contracts" whereby firms would be subsidised for introducing part-time work or early retirement if they also allowed the creation of new jobs, while a decree of March 1982 provided employees with the right to retire at the age of 60 on 50% of average earnings during their 10 best years of employment. In 1983, legislation was passed to encourage greater equality in the private sector. Firms now had to make an annual report on the training opportunities and employment conditions for women and present a statistical analysis of their position in the firm, whilst the works committee had to ensure that equality-promoting measures were taken.<ref name="ReferenceB">''Mitterrand's France'' Edited by Sonia Mazey and Michael Newman</ref> In addition, a new benefit was introduced for unemployed workers who had exhausted their eligibility for unemployment insurance.<ref name="Vail2009">{{cite book |title=Recasting Welfare Capitalism Economic Adjustment in Contemporary France and Germany |first=Mark I. |last=Vail |year=2009 |location=Philadelphia |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=978-1-59213-967-5}}</ref> In December 1982, a law was passed that restored to workers the right to elect administrators to social security funds, which had been eliminated by Charles De Gaulle in 1967.<ref>''Contemporary France: Politics and Society Since 1945'' by D. L. Hanley, Miss A P Kerr, N. H. Waites</ref>

Mitterrand continued to promote the new technologies initiated by his predecessor Valéry Giscard d'Estaing: the [[TGV]] high-speed train and the [[Minitel]], a pre-World Wide Web interactive network similar to the web.<ref>{{Cite web |title=French bid "adieu" to Minitel, the France-Wide Web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-minitel-idINBRE85S0HB20120629/ |website=Reuters}}</ref><!-- Blacklisted <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whitepages.fr/telecom-history-minitel.html |title=History of the Minitel |publisher=Whitepages.fr |access-date=11 March 2013}}</ref> --> The Minitel and the [[LGV Sud-Est|Paris-Lyon TGV line]] were inaugurated only a few weeks after the election. In addition, Government grants and loans for capital investment for modernisation were significantly increased.<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=From State to Market?: The Transformation of French Business and Government|author=Schmidt, V.A.|date=1996|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-55553-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C0kxrOXYMPQC|page=125|access-date=1 July 2015|archive-date=11 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611055253/https://books.google.com/books?id=C0kxrOXYMPQC|url-status=live}}</ref>

François Mitterrand passed the first decentralization laws, the [[Gaston Defferre|Defferre Act]].

After two years in office, Mitterrand made a substantial u-turn in economic policies, with the March 1983 adoption of the so-called "tournant de la rigueur" (austerity turn). Priority was given to the struggle against inflation in order to remain competitive in the [[European Monetary System]]. Although there were two periods of mild economic reflation (first from 1984 to 1986 and again from 1988 to 1990), monetary and fiscal restraint was the essential policy orientation of François Mitterrand's presidency from 1983 onwards.<ref name="Smith1998">{{cite book|last=Smith|first=W. Rand|title=The Left's Dirty Job: The Politics of Industrial Restructuring in France and Spain|url=https://archive.org/details/leftsdirtyjobpol0000smit|url-access=registration|access-date=28 August 2014|year=1998|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press|isbn=978-0-8229-7189-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/leftsdirtyjobpol0000smit/page/102 102]}}</ref> Nevertheless, compared to the OECD average, fiscal policy in France remained relatively expansionary during the course of the two François Mitterrand presidencies.<ref name="google6">{{cite book|title=Monetary Divergence: Domestic Policy Autonomy in the Post-Bretton Woods Era|author=Bearce, D.|date=2009|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=978-0-472-02309-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=66kzw2jUQ4cC|page=107|access-date=7 December 2014|archive-date=17 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617174511/https://books.google.com/books?id=66kzw2jUQ4cC|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Social policy====
In 1983, all members of the general pension scheme obtained the right to a full pension at the age of 60 payable at a rate of half the reference wage in return for 37.5 years contribution. The government agreed at the same time to improve the pension position of some public sector employees and to increase the real value of the minimum pension. In addition, later negotiations brought retirement at 60 years into the occupational schemes although the financial terms for doing so could only be agreed for a 7-year period. A comparison between 1981 and 1986 showed that the minimum state pension had increased by 64% for a couple and by 81% for one person. During that same period, family allowances had increased by 71% for three children and by 112% for two children. In addition, the single-parent allowance for mothers or fathers with one child had been increased by 103% and for two or more children by 52% for each child.

In order to mark the importance of the problems of the elderly, the government appointed a Secretary of State (attached to the Ministry of Social Affairs and National Solidarity) to carry special responsibility for them, and in an effort to try to relate policy to the felt needs of the elderly, it set up a central advisory committee to examine social policy from their point of view and carry out special studies and enquiries. This body became especially concerned with monitoring the attempts at coordination and encouraging policies which were aimed at helping the elderly stay at home instead of entering residential care.<ref name="ReferenceB" />

In the field of health care, some prescription charges were abolished, hospital administration was decentralised, workers' rights in the health service were reaffirmed, and equipment was provided for researchers.<ref>''The French Socialist Party: Resurgence and Victory'' by D. S. Bell and Byron Criddle</ref> From 1983 onwards, wage-earners who had contributed to a pension fund for 37.5 years became eligible to retire on a full pension. This right was extended to the self-employed in 1984 and to farmers in 1986. People who had retired at the age of 60 were, however, not initially eligible for reductions on public transport until they reached the age of 65. The qualifying age for these reductions was, however, reduced to 62 in 1985.<ref name="ReferenceA">France during the socialist years by Gino Raymond</ref> A number of illegal immigrants had their position regularized under the Socialists and the conditions pertaining to residence and work permits were eased. Educational programmes were implemented to help immigrant communities, while immigrants were allowed the right to free association. The Socialist government also opened up talks with the authorities in some of the main countries of origin, easing nationality rules in the public sector, associating representatives of migrant groups with public authority work, and establishing an Immigrants Council in 1984.

Although the income limit for allowances varied according to the position of the child in the family and the number of dependent children, these ceilings were made more favourable in cases where both parents were working or where a single parent was in charge and were linked to changes in wage levels. Those taking parental leave to care for three or more children (provided that they fulfilled the rules for eligibility) also received certain benefits in kind, such as a non-taxable, non-means-tested benefit and priority on vocational training courses. A new boost was also given to research into family problems including an interest in the effects of changing family structures, of women’s employment and the impact of local social policies on family life.<ref name="ReferenceB" /> In addition, a law on equal opportunities in employment was passed in July 1983 which prohibited all forms of unequal treatment regardless of the circumstances, together with providing for positive action plans to be established in major companies. In January 1984, a decree was made granting state aid to companies which implemented equality plans for staff.<ref name="google3">{{cite book|title=Integrating Gender: Women, Law and Politics in the European Union|author=Hoskyns, C.|date=1996|publisher=Verso|isbn=978-1-85984-078-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rjRu4M-zfH8C|page=217|access-date=7 December 2014|archive-date=3 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603224733/https://books.google.com/books?id=rjRu4M-zfH8C|url-status=live}}</ref> That same year, a law was passed that gave the regional Caissess des Allocations Familiales the task of collecting unpaid alimony, initially for lone parents and subsequently for remarried or cohabiting mothers.<ref>''European Welfare Policy: Squaring the Welfare Circle'' edited by Vic George and Peter Taylor-Gooby</ref>

In the field of education, more resources were devoted to the educational system, with the education budgets of 1982, 1983, and 1984 increasing by approximately 4% to 6% per year above the rate of inflation. From 1981 to 1983, the corps of teachers was increased by 30,000.<ref name="CorbettMoon2002">{{cite book|last1=Corbett|first1=Anne|last2=Moon|first2=Bob|title=Education in France: Continuity and Change in the Mitterrand Years 1981–1995|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v3U6wnRjX7cC&pg=PA96|year=2002|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-203-03568-9|page=96|access-date=1 July 2015|archive-date=4 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604003500/https://books.google.com/books?id=v3U6wnRjX7cC&pg=PA96|url-status=live}}</ref> Authorization was restored for a number of advanced undergraduate and graduate programmes which the previous centre-right minister [[Alice Saunier-Seité]] had rejected on grounds of economy and "rationalization" of resources.<ref>The French Socialist Experiment by John S. Ambler</ref> Numerous initiatives were carried out such as the teaching of civics, the reintroduction of the teaching of French history and geography at the primary level, the introduction of new professional degrees, a partnership between schools and enterprises, and the introduction of computers in classrooms. Priority areas were set up in 1981 as part of a systematic effort to combat underachievement in schools, while technical education was encouraged. In addition, nursery education was expanded,<ref>''The French Socialists in Power, 1981–1986'' by Patrick McCarthy</ref> while efforts by the Socialists to promote joint research between industry and the research agencies increased the number of such contracts by half each year between 1982 and 1985, with a 29% increase in joint patents.<ref name="google4">{{cite journal|title=New Scientist|journal=New Scientist Careers Guide: The Employer Contacts Book for Scientists |issn=0262-4079|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S-uyZw8e8XAC|page=29|access-date=7 December 2014|date=21 April 1988|archive-date=10 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610113351/https://books.google.com/books?id=S-uyZw8e8XAC|url-status=live}}</ref> The baccalauréat professionnel, introduced in 1985, enabled holders of a Brevet d'études professionnelles (or in some cases of a Certificat d’aptitude professionnelle) to continue for another two years and study for the baccalauréat.<ref name="ambafrance-uk">{{cite web|url=http://ambafrance-uk.org/Education,11798|title=Education – France in the United Kingdom – La France au Royaume-Uni|author=PSI|publisher=ambafrance-uk.org|access-date=7 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104074531/http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Education,11798|archive-date=4 November 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Several measures were taken to put an end to the discrimination of homosexuals and repeal legal practices that repressed them. The Minister of the Interior, [[Gaston Defferre]], put an end to the registration of homosexuals, and the Communist [[Jack Ralite]], Minister of Health, removed homosexuality from the list of mental disorders.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.humanite.fr/-/-/ce-qui-a-change | title=Ce qui a changé  | date=6 April 1998 }}</ref> The government also introduced the passage of the sexual majority to 15 years for all, abolishing the distinction, introduced in 1942, in the age of consent between homosexual and heterosexual relations.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000691992 | title=Loi n°82-683 du 4 août 1982 ABROGATION DE l'ART. 331 (AL. 2) DU CODE PENAL;EN CONSEQUENCE, LES ACTES IMPUDIQUES OU CONTRE NATURE COMMIS AVEC UN MINEUR DU MEME SEXE (HOMOSEXUALITE) NE SERONT PLUS PUNIS DE PEINES CORRECTIONNELLES - Légifrance }}</ref> Homosexual lifestyle ceased to be a clause for cancellation of a residential lease.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000691739 | title=Loi n° 82-526 du 22 juin 1982 relative aux droits et obligations des locataires et des bailleurs }}</ref>

Mitterrand abolished the death penalty as soon as he took office (via the [[Robert Badinter|Badinter Act]]), as well as the "anti-casseurs Act" which instituted collective responsibility for acts of violence during demonstrations. He also dissolved the ''Cour de sûreté'', a special high court, and enacted a massive regularization of [[illegal immigration|illegal immigrants]]. Tighter regulations on the powers of police to stop, search and arrest were introduced, and the "loi sécurité et liberté" (a controversial public order act) was repealed. In addition, the legal aid system was improved.<ref name="google5">{{cite book|title=The Extreme Right in France: From Pétain to Le Pen|author=Shields, J.|date=2007|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-134-86111-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7eGJAgAAQBAJ|page=200|access-date=7 December 2014|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801163348/https://books.google.com/books?id=7eGJAgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1984, a law was passed to ensure that divorced women who were not in receipt of maintenance would be provided with assistance in recovering the shortfall in their income from their former husband. By 1986, particular attention was being focused on assisting women in single-parent families to get back into employment, in recognition of the growing problems associated with extra-marital births and marital breakdown. Parental leave was extended to firms with 100 employees in 1981 (previously, parental leave provision had been made in 1977 for firms employing at least 200 employees) and subsequently to all employees in 1984. From 1984 onwards, married women were obliged to sign tax returns, men and women were provided with equal rights in managing their common property and that of their children, and in 1985 they became responsible for each other’s debts.

Childcare facilities were also expanded, with the number of places in crèches rising steadily between 1981 and 1986.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> In addition, the minimum wage was significantly increased. From 1981 to 1984, the ''[[salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance|SMIC]]'' rose by 125%, while prices went up by only 75% during that same period.<ref>''The Death of Politics: France under Mitterrand'' by John Laughland {{page needed|date=May 2017}}</ref> Various measures were also introduced to mitigate the effects of rising unemployment. Between 1981 and 1986, there had been just over 800,000 young people placed on special work schemes, 800,000 early retirements, 200,000 enterprise allowance successes, and 30,000 retrained workers from declining industrial sectors.<ref name="ReferenceB" />

====Cultural policy====
With respect to cultural policies, grants were allocated to non-profit associations and community cultural initiatives,<ref name="google2">{{cite book|title=Hijab and the Republic: Uncovering the French Headscarf Debate|author=Winter, B.|date=2008|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=978-0-8156-5132-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/hijabrepublicunc0000wint|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/hijabrepublicunc0000wint/page/113 113]|access-date=7 December 2014}}</ref> Mitterrand [[Liberalization|liberalized]] the media, created the [[Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel|CSA]] media regulation agency, and authorized [[pirate radios in France|pirate radio]] and the first private TV ([[Canal+ (French TV channel)|Canal+]]), giving rise to the [[Media of France|private broadcasting]] sector.

In terms of the theatre, some transfer of resources was made from the subsidy of the national theatres to the support for theatre companies which did not necessarily have an institutional home. A significant investment was made in music education with the creation of 5 new music schools in the departments and the revamping of the Conservatoire National de la Musique at Lyon, while the range and capacity of performance facilities in Paris were considerably increased, with the Cite Musicale de la Villette and the Opera de la Bastille allowing for specialist performance in a way that was lacking in Paris previously, and a 2,000 seat concert hall called le Zenith, which was designed primarily for rock music concerts but adapted for all uses.

The Socialists continued the policies of their predecessors with the [[Grand Louvre]] project and the opening of the [[Musée Picasso|Picasso Museum]] at the Hotel Sale, while the museum budget was quadrupled and particular sums were set aside for the first time for large regional projects including the establishment of a number of new museums in the provinces such as the Ecomuseum at [[Chartres]] and the Museum of Prehistory at [[Carnac]]. A Fonds Regional des Acquisitions was established to assist provincial museums in the purchase of works of art, while the state actively continued an existing policy of encouraging bequests in lieu of death duties.

Libraries and publishing benefited from new thinking and an injection of funds, while aid to authors and publishers was restructured and book prices were fixed once again, with the objective being to assist smaller publishing houses and specialist bookshops. The network of regional lending libraries was significantly reinforced, while financial assistance was provided for the export of French books. In addition, archaeology, ethnography and historical buildings and monuments all benefited from the general increase in resources.<ref name="ReferenceB" />

====Domestic difficulties====
The Left lost the 1983 municipal elections and the 1984 European Parliament election. At the same time, the [[Alain Savary|Savary Bill]], to limit the financing of private schools by local communities, caused a political crisis. It was abandoned and Mauroy resigned in July 1984. [[Laurent Fabius]] succeeded him, and the Communists left the cabinet.

In terms of foreign policy, Mitterrand did not significantly deviate from his predecessors and he continued nuclear weapons testing in the South Pacific in spite of protests from various peace and environmentalist organizations. In 1985, French agents sank the [[Greenpeace]]-owned ex-[[Fishing trawler|trawler]] [[Rainbow Warrior (1955)|''Rainbow Warrior'']] while it was docked in [[Auckland]], [[New Zealand]] which the group had used in demonstrations against nuclear tests, [[whaling]], and [[seal hunting]]. One Greenpeace member was killed, and when news broke of the event, a major scandal erupted that led to the resignation of Defence Minister [[Charles Hernu]]. France apologized with a subsequent payment of $8.16m reparations to Greenpeace in damages, NZ$13m to the New Zealand Government and a significant amount to the relatives of the deceased.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Willsher |first1=Kim |title=French Spy who sank Greenpeace ship apologises for lethal bombing |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/06/french-spy-who-sunk-greenpeace-ship-apologises-for-lethal-bombing |access-date=7 May 2016 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=6 September 2015 |ref=French Spy apologises |archive-date=4 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604032806/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/06/french-spy-who-sunk-greenpeace-ship-apologises-for-lethal-bombing |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=UN>{{Cite journal |url=http://legal.un.org/riaa/cases/vol_XX/215-284.pdf |date=30 April 1990 |title=Case concerning the difference between New Zealand and France concerning the interpretation or application of two agreements, concluded on 9 July 1986 between the two states and which related to the problems arising from the Rainbow Warrior Affair |journal=Reports of International Arbitral Awards |volume=XX |pages=215–284, especially p 275 |access-date=21 October 2013 |archive-date=27 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527193734/http://legal.un.org/riaa/cases/vol_XX/215-284.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Reports of International Arbitral Awards : Case concerning the differences between New Zealand and France arising from the Rainbow Warrior affair |date=6 July 1986 |publisher=United Nations |pages=199–221 |url=http://legal.un.org/riaa/cases/vol_XIX/199-221.pdf |access-date=7 May 2016 |archive-date=3 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403071528/http://legal.un.org/riaa/cases/vol_XIX/199-221.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

====First Cohabitation====
Before the [[1986 French legislative election|1986 legislative campaign]], [[proportional representation]] was instituted in accordance with the 110 Propositions. It did not prevent, however, the victory of the [[Rally for the Republic]]/[[Union for French Democracy]] (RPR/UDF) coalition. François Mitterrand thus named the RPR leader [[Jacques Chirac]] as Prime Minister. This period of government, with a President and a Prime Minister who came from two opposite coalitions, was the first time that such a combination had occurred under the Fifth Republic, and came to be known as "[[Cohabitation (government)|Cohabitation]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FRsocialist.htm |title=Socialist Party |publisher=Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk |date=31 July 1914 |access-date=11 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303143326/http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FRsocialist.htm |archive-date=3 March 2013}}</ref>

Chirac mostly handled domestic policy while François Mitterrand concentrated on his "reserved domain" of foreign affairs and defence. However, several conflicts erupted between the two. In one example, Mitterrand refused to sign executive decrees of liberalisation, obliging Chirac to pass the measures through parliament instead. François Mitterrand also reportedly gave covert support to some social movements, notably the student revolt against the university reform ([[Alain Devaquet|Devaquet Bill]]).{{citation needed|date=July 2007}} Benefiting from the difficulties of Chirac's cabinet, the President's popularity increased.

With the polls running in his favour, François Mitterrand announced his candidacy in the [[1988 French presidential election|1988 presidential election]]. He proposed a moderate programme (promising "neither nationalisation nor privatization"), advocated a "united France," and laid out his policy priorities in his "Letter to the French People."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://miroirs.ironie.org/socialisme/www.psinfo.net/elections/president/1988/index.html |title=Élection présidentielle de 1988 |publisher=Miroirs.ironie.org |access-date=11 March 2013 |archive-date=9 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209131832/http://miroirs.ironie.org/socialisme/www.psinfo.net/elections/president/1988/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He obtained 34% of the votes in the first round, then faced Chirac in the second, and was re-elected with 54% of the votes. François Mitterrand thus became the first President to be elected twice by universal suffrage.

===Second term: 1988–1995===

====Domestic policy====
Following his re-election, he named [[Michel Rocard]] as prime minister, despite their poor relations. Rocard led the moderate wing of the PS and he was the most popular of the Socialist politicians. François Mitterrand decided to organize a new [[1988 French legislative election|legislative election]]. The PS obtained a relative parliamentary majority. Four centre-right politicians joined the cabinet.

The second term was marked by the creation of the [[Revenu minimum d'insertion|Insertion Minimum Revenue]] (RMI), which ensured a minimum level of income to those deprived of any other form of income; the restoring of the solidarity tax on wealth, which had been abolished by Chirac's cabinet; the institution of the [[Generalized social tax]]; the extension of parental leave up to the child's third birthday;<ref name="ReferenceA" /> the reform of the [[Common Agricultural Policy]]; the 1990 [[Gayssot Act]] on [[hate speech]] and [[Holocaust denial]]; the Besson law of 1990;<ref>http://www.oecd.org/gov/publicsectorinnovationande-government/2537279.pdf {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> the Mermaz Law of 1989;<ref name="justlanded">{{cite web|url=http://www.justlanded.com/english/France/Articles/Property/Letting-in-France|title=France: Letting in France, Rules & Regulations, Various rules and regulations apply to the letting of|publisher=justlanded.com|access-date=7 December 2014|archive-date=24 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524023054/http://www.justlanded.com/english/France/Articles/Property/Letting-in-France|url-status=live}}</ref> the introduction of a private childcare allowance;<ref name="google7">{{cite book|title=The Politics of Post-Industrial Welfare States: Adapting Post-War Social Policies to New Social Risks|author1=Armingeon, K.|author2=Bonoli, G.|date=2007|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-134-17910-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sTi2SS8egosC|page=218|access-date=7 December 2014|archive-date=9 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509121801/https://books.google.com/books?id=sTi2SS8egosC|url-status=live}}</ref> the Urban Orientation Law of 1991;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/247-FR_Housing.pdf|title=National Analytical Study on Housing|access-date=11 March 2013|archive-date=15 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515112647/http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/247-FR_Housing.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Pierre Arpaillange|Arpaillange Act]] on the financing of political parties; the reform of the [[penal code]]; the [[Matignon Agreements (1988)|Matignon Agreements]] concerning [[New Caledonia]]; the [[Loi Evin|Evin Act]] on smoking in public places; the extension of the age limit for family allowances to 18 years in 1990;<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref name="securite-sociale">{{cite web|url=http://www.securite-sociale.fr/L-allocation-de-rentree-scolaire-est-versee-sous-conditions-de-ressources-pour-chaque-enfant?id_mot=67|title=Le portail du service public de la Sécurité sociale / L'allocation de rentrée scolaire est&nbsp;(...)|publisher=securite-sociale.fr|access-date=7 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501082739/http://www.securite-sociale.fr/L-allocation-de-rentree-scolaire-est-versee-sous-conditions-de-ressources-pour-chaque-enfant?id_mot=67|archive-date=1 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the 1989 Education Act which, amongst other measures, obliged local authorities to educate all children with disabilities.<ref name="google8">{{cite book|title=Implementing Inclusive Education|author=Innovation, C.E.R.|date=1997|publisher=Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|isbn=9789264155893|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y7N3QP75Q9wC|page=24|access-date=7 December 2014|archive-date=30 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430131626/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y7N3QP75Q9wC|url-status=live}}</ref> Several large architectural works were pursued, in what would become known as the [[Grands Projets of François Mitterrand]] with the building of the [[Louvre Pyramid]], the [[Channel Tunnel]], the [[Grande Arche]] at [[La Défense]], the [[Bastille Opera]], the Finance Ministry in [[Bercy]], and the [[Bibliothèque Nationale de France|National Library of France]]. On 16 February 1993, President François Mitterrand inaugurated in [[Fréjus]] a memorial to the [[Indochina War|wars in Indochina]].

But the second term was also marked by rivalries within the PS and the split of the ''Mitterrandist'' group (at the [[Rennes Congress]], where supporters of [[Laurent Fabius]] and [[Lionel Jospin]] clashed bitterly for control of the party), the scandals about the financing of the party, the [[Infected blood scandal (France)|contaminated blood scandal]] which implicated Laurent Fabius and former ministers Georgina Dufoix and Emond Hervé, and the Elysée wiretaps affairs.

====Second Cohabitation====
Disappointed with Rocard's apparent failure to enact the Socialists' programme, Mitterrand dismissed Michel Rocard in 1991 and appointed [[Édith Cresson]] to replace him. She was the first woman to become prime minister in France but proved a costly mistake due to her tendency to make acerbic and racist public remarks. After the Socialists experienced heavy losses in the 1992 regional elections, Cresson resigned from office. Her successor [[Pierre Bérégovoy]] promised to fight unemployment and corruption but he could not prevent the catastrophic defeat of the left in the [[1993 French legislative election|1993 legislative election]]. The Socialist Party suffered a crushing defeat with the right-wing parties winning 485 seats to the left's 95. He killed himself on 1 May 1993.

Mitterrand named the former RPR Finance Minister [[Edouard Balladur]] as Prime Minister. The second "cohabitation" was less contentious than the first, because the two men knew they were not rivals for the next presidential election. By this point, François Mitterrand was nearly 80 years old and suffering from cancer in addition to the shock of his friend [[François de Grossouvre]]'s suicide. His second and last term ended after the [[1995 French presidential election|1995 presidential election]] in May 1995 with the election of [[Jacques Chirac]]. Socialist candidate [[Lionel Jospin]] lost the presidential election.

Overall, as President, Mitterrand maintained the "basic characteristic of a strong welfare base underpinned by a strong state." A United Nations Human Development report concluded that, from 1979 to 1989, France was the only country in the OECD (apart from Portugal) in which income inequalities did not get worse.<ref>''France since 1870: Culture, Politics, and Society'' by Charles Sowerine</ref> During his second term as president, however, the gap between rich and poor widened in France,<ref>''One Hundred Years of Socialism: The West European Left in the Twentieth Century'' by Donald Sassoon</ref> with both unemployment and poverty rising in the wake of the economic recession of 1991–1993.<ref>''The Mitterrand Years: Legacy and Evaluation'' edited by Mairi Maclean</ref> According to other studies, though, the percentage of the French population living in poverty (based on various criteria) fell between the mid-Eighties and the mid-Nineties.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bT-3laKFEUsC&q=poverty+in+france+1981-1995&pg=PA149|title=Statistical Handbook on the Social Safety Net|first=Fernando Francisco|last=Padró|date=1 January 2004|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9781573565165|access-date=17 October 2020|archive-date=20 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320051336/https://books.google.com/books?id=bT-3laKFEUsC&q=poverty+in+france+1981-1995&pg=PA149|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cajWAgAAQBAJ|title=Innovations in Labour Market Policies The Australian Way: The Australian Way|last=OECD|date=17 July 2001|publisher=OECD Publishing|isbn=9789264194502|access-date=19 July 2016|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801215830/https://books.google.com/books?id=cajWAgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Foreign policy===
{{Main|Foreign policy of the François Mitterrand administration}}
According to Wayne Northcutt, certain domestic circumstances helped shape Mitterrand's foreign policy in four ways: he needed to maintain a political consensus; he kept an eye on economic conditions; he believed in the nationalistic imperative for French policy; and he tried to exploit Gaullism and its heritage for political advantage.<ref>Wayne Northcutt. "The domestic origins of Mitterrand's foreign policy, 1981-1985." ''Contemporary French Civilization'' (1986), 10#2 pp 233-267</ref>

====East/West relations====
François Mitterrand supported closer European collaboration and the preservation of France's unique relationship with its former colonies, which he feared were falling under "[[Anglosphere|Anglo-Saxon]] influence." His drive to preserve French power in Africa led to controversies concerning Paris' role during the [[Rwandan genocide]].<ref name="rwanda">[http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2730430.ece Mitterrand's role revealed in Rwandan genocide warning] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706182535/http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2730430.ece |date=6 July 2008 }}, 3 July 2007. ''[[The Independent]]''</ref>

Despite Mitterrand's left-wing affiliations, the 1980s saw France becoming more distant from the [[USSR]], especially following events such as the expulsion of 47 Soviet [[diplomat]]s and their families from the country in 1982 after they were accused of large-scale industrial and military [[espionage]]. François Mitterrand also sharply criticized the [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet intervention]] in [[Afghanistan]] as well as the country's nuclear weapons buildup. When François Mitterrand visited the USSR in November 1988, the Soviet media claimed to be 'leaving aside the virtually wasted decade and losing the [[France-Russia relations|Soviet-French]] 'special relationship' of the Gaullist era'.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

Nevertheless, Mitterrand was worried by the rapidity of the [[Eastern Bloc|Eastern bloc's]] [[Revolutions of 1989|collapse]]. He was opposed to [[German reunification]] but came to see it as unavoidable.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6829735.ece | work=The Times | location=London | title=Thatcher told Gorbachev Britain did not want German reunification | first=Michael | last=Binyon | date=11 September 2009 | access-date=2 May 2010 | archive-date=16 July 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716101355/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6829735.ece | url-status=dead }}</ref> He was opposed to the swift recognition of [[Croatia]] and [[Slovenia]], which he thought would lead to the [[Wars in Yugoslavia|violent implosion of Yugoslavia]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 29, 1991 |orig-date=November 29, 1991 |title=Slovenian, Croatian Leaders To Visit Bonn To Discuss Recognition With AM-Yugoslavia, Bjt |url=https://apnews.com/article/7205deb83bfcbf95e04db04fb3a27e48 |access-date= |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref>

France participated in the [[Gulf War]] (1990–1991) with the [[Gulf War#Coalition involvement|U.N. coalition]].{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

====European policy====
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F076604-0021, Frankreich, Staatsbesuch Bundeskanzler Kohl.jpg|thumb|Mitterrand and German Chancellor [[Helmut Kohl|Kohl]], 1987.]]
He initially opposed further membership, fearing the Community was not ready and it would water it down to a free trade area.<ref name="ESI">[http://www.esiweb.org/index.php?lang=en&id=156&document_ID=74 Beyond Enlargement Fatigue? The Dutch debate on Turkish accession] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426011550/http://www.esiweb.org/index.php?lang=en&id=156&document_ID=74 |date=26 April 2012 }}, European Security Initiative 2006</ref>

Mitterrand supported the [[Enlargement of the European Union|enlargement of the Community]] to include Spain and Portugal (which both joined in January 1986). In February 1986 he helped the ''[[Single European Act]]'' come into effect. He worked well with his friend [[Helmut Kohl]] and improved [[Franco-German relations]] significantly.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=van Hoef|first=Yuri|date=2014|title=Friendship in world politics: Assessing the personal relationships between Kohl and Mitterrand, and Bush and Gorbachev|url=https://amityjournal.leeds.ac.uk/|journal=Amity: The Journal of Friendship Studies|volume=3|issue=1 |pages=72–75|access-date=5 March 2018|archive-date=5 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305142747/https://amityjournal.leeds.ac.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref> Together they fathered the [[Maastricht Treaty]], which was signed on 7 February 1992. It was ratified by [[1992 French referendum|referendum]], and approved by just over 51% of the voters.

British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] was against a [[German reunification]]<ref>sueddeutsche.de 10 September 2009: [http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/deutsche-einheit-fuer-thatcher-war-deutschland-eine-gefaehrliche-kroete-1.28579 Für Thatcher war Deutschland eine gefährliche Kröte] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401112103/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/deutsche-einheit-fuer-thatcher-war-deutschland-eine-gefaehrliche-kroete-1.28579 |date=1 April 2012 }}</ref> and also against the then discussed [[Maastricht Treaty]].
When Kohl, then West German Chancellor, asked François Mitterrand to agree to reunification (France was one of the four Allies who had to agree to the [[Two Plus Four]]-treaty), François Mitterrand told Kohl he accepted it only in the event Germany would abandon the [[Deutsche Mark]] and adopt the Euro. Kohl accepted this [[package deal]] (including without talking to [[Karl Otto Pöhl]], then President of the Bundesbank).<ref>spiegel.de: [http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,719608,00.html ''Mitterrand forderte Euro als Gegenleistung für die Einheit''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127081144/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,719608,00.html |date=27 January 2012 }}; spiegel.de 27. April 1998: [http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-7870401.html Dunkelste Stunden. – Der Kanzler öffnet die Akten über die deutsche Einheit. Die Dokumente zeigen: Frankreich hat das schnelle Ende der Mark erzwungen.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723171709/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-7870401.html |date=23 July 2012 }}; spiegel.de 2. März 1998: [http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-7833746.html Weg ohne Wiederkehr. – Hinter der Fassade ihrer deutsch-französischen Freundschaft haben Helmut Kohl und François Mitterrand erbittert um Einheit und Euro gerungen, wie jetzt neue Dokumente aus dem Kanzleramt zeigen.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803112202/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-7833746.html |date=3 August 2012 }}</ref><ref name="spiegel">spiegel.de 8. May 2012: [http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/euro-struggles-can-be-traced-to-origins-of-common-currency-a-831842.html Operation Self-Deceit: New Documents Shine Light on Euro Birth Defects] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509184543/http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/euro-struggles-can-be-traced-to-origins-of-common-currency-a-831842.html |date=9 May 2012 }}</ref>

That year, he also established the [[Mitterrand doctrine]], a policy of not extraditing convicted far-left terrorists of the [[Years of Lead (Italy)|years of lead]] such as [[Cesare Battisti (born 1954)|Cesare Battisti]] to [[Italy]], due to the alleged non-conformity of Italian legislation to European standards of rule of law, in particular the anti-terrorism laws passed by Italy in the 1970s and 1980s. When the [[European Court of Human Rights]] finally ruled against the François Mitterrand doctrine, the policy had already led to most of the criminals never being punished for their crimes.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

====1990 speech at La Baule====
Responding to a democratic movement in Africa after the 1989 fall of the [[Berlin Wall]], he made his La Baule speech in June 1990 which tied [[development aid]] to democratic efforts from former French colonies, and during which he opposed the devaluation of the [[CFA Franc]]. Seeing an "East wind" blowing in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, he stated that a "Southern wind" was also blowing in Africa, and that state leaders had to respond to the populations' wishes and aspirations by a "democratic opening", which included a [[representative democracy|representative system]], free elections, [[Multi-party system|multipartyism]], [[freedom of the press]], an independent judiciary, and abolition of censorship. Claiming that France was the country making the most important effort concerning development aid, he announced that the [[Least developed country|least developed countries]] (LDCs) would henceforth receive only grants from France, as opposed to loans (in order to combat the massive increase of [[Third World debt]] during the 1980s). He likewise limited the [[interest rate]] to 5% on French loans to intermediate-income countries (that is, [[Ivory Coast]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]], Cameroon and [[Gabon]]).

He also criticized interventionism in sovereign matters, which was according to him only another form of "[[colonialism]]". However, according to François Mitterrand, this did not imply lessened concern on the part of Paris for its [[French colonial empire|former colonies]]. François Mitterrand thus continued with the African policy of de Gaulle inaugurated in 1960, which followed the relative failure of the 1958 creation of the [[French Community]]. All in all, François Mitterrand's La Baule speech, which marked a relative turning point in France's policy concerning its former colonies, has been compared with the 1956 ''loi-cadre [[Gaston Defferre|Defferre]]'' which was responding to [[anti-colonialist]] feelings.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20061117230046/http://helios.univ-reims.fr/Labos/CERI/Mitterrand_et_la_democratie_en_Afrique.htm#UN%20DISCOURS%20DE%20CIRCONSTANCE François Mitterrand et la démocratie en Afrique, huit ans après], by Albert Bourgi, {{ill|Centre de recherches internationales|fr}} (CERI) (mixed study unit with the [[CNRS]], dependent of the ''[[Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques]]'') {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

African heads of state reacted to François Mitterrand's speech at most with indifference. [[Omar Bongo]], President of Gabon, declared that he would rather have "events counsel him;" [[Abdou Diouf]], President of Senegal, said that, according to him, the best solution was a "strong government" and a "good faith opposition;" the President of Chad, [[Hissène Habré]] (nicknamed the "African [[Augusto Pinochet|Pinochet]]") claimed that it was contradictory to demand that African states should simultaneously carry on a "democratic policy" and "social and economic policies which limited their sovereignty", in a clear allusion to the [[International Monetary Fund]] and the [[World Bank]]'s "[[structural adjustment]] programs". [[Hassan II]], the king of Morocco, said for his part that "Africa was too open to the world to remain indifferent to what was happening around it", but that Western countries should "help young democracies open out, without putting a knife under their throat, without a brutal transition to multipartyism."<ref>[http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/B0100_-fiche22sommets.pdf Les 22 premières conférences des chefs d'Etat de France et d'Afrique] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203100948/http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/B0100_-fiche22sommets.pdf |date=3 February 2007 }}, on French government website – URL accessed in January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

All in all, the La Baule speech has been said to be on one hand "one of the foundations of political renewal in Africa French speaking area", and on the other hand "cooperation with France", this despite "incoherence and inconsistency, like any [[public policy]]".<ref>[http://doc-iep.univ-lyon2.fr/Ressources/Documents/Etudiants/Memoires/detail-memoire.html?ID=310 Le discours de la Baule et le pluralisme en Afrique noire francophone. Essai d'analyse d'une contribution à l'instauration de la démocratie dans les états d'Afrique noire d'expression française] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929084136/http://doc-iep.univ-lyon2.fr/Ressources/Documents/Etudiants/Memoires/detail-memoire.html?ID=310 |date=29 September 2007 }}, 1993–94 [[DEA (former French degree)|DEA]] ''mémoire'' of Félix François Lissouck, under the direction of Paul Bacot, held in the [[Institut d'études politiques|Political Studies Institute]] (IEP) of Lyon. {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

====Discovery of HIV====
The controversy surrounding the discovery of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was intense after American researcher [[Robert Gallo]] and French scientist [[Luc Montagnier]] both claimed to have discovered it. The two scientists had given the new virus different names. The [[List of scientific priority disputes|controversy]] was eventually settled by an agreement (helped along by the mediation of Dr [[Jonas Salk]]) between President [[Ronald Reagan]] and François Mitterrand which gave equal credit to both men and their teams.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shilts |first=Randy |title=And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic |publisher=Stonewall Inn Editions |year=1987 |isbn=9780312241353 |language=en}}</ref>

====Apology to the Huguenots====
In October 1985, to commemorate the tricentenary of the [[Revocation of the Edict of Nantes]], Mitterrand gave a formal apology to the descendants of [[Huguenot]]s around the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://discours.vie-publique.fr/notices/857015500.html |title=Allocution de M. François Mitterrand, Président de la République, aux cérémonies du tricentenaire de la Révocation de l'Edit de Nantes, sur la tolérance en matière politique et religieuse et l'histoire du protestantisme en France, Paris, Palais de l'UNESCO |publisher=Discours.vie-publique.fr |date=11 October 1985 |access-date=11 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630182945/http://discours.vie-publique.fr/notices/857015500.html |archive-date=30 June 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> At the same time, a special postage stamp was released in their honour. The stamp states that France ''is'' the home of the Huguenots ("Accueil des Huguenots"). Hence their rights were finally recognised.

====Co-Prince of Andorra====
On 2 February 1993, in his capacity as co-prince of [[Andorra]], Mitterrand and [[Joan Martí Alanis]], who was [[Bishop of Urgell]] and therefore Andorra's other co-prince, signed Andorra's new [[Constitution of Andorra|constitution]], which was later approved by [[referendum]] in the principality.