Editing Political history of France (section)

==Issues==
===The issue of liberalism or socialism===

One of the great questions of current French politics is that of ''libéralisme'' – that is, [[economic liberalism]], individualism society and the market system, as opposed to government intervention in the economy. Broadly speaking, supporters of ''libéralisme'' want to let the forces of the [[free market]] operate with less regulation. For example, they want little regulation of the workforce and repeal of French laws setting a [[35-hour work week]] rather than leaving this to contract negotiations. Critics of ''libéralisme'' argue that governmental intervention is necessary for the welfare of workers; they point out that great gains in workers' rights were historically achieved by government intervention and social mobilization, as during the [[Popular Front (France)|Popular Front]]. Similarly, proponents of ''libéralisme'' favour free markets and the free movement of goods, which critics contend benefit the wealthy class at the expense of the ordinary worker.

According to historian [[René Rémond]]'s famous classification of the right-wings in France, this ''libérale'' tradition belongs to the [[Orleanist]] inheritance, while [[Gaullist]]s inherited from [[Bonapartism]] and a tradition of state intervention issued from the [[National Council of Resistance]] (CNR)'s [[welfare state]] program after the war. However, neo-Gaullists have since rallied economic liberalism, with the result that modern French conservatives – such as the [[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]], or before that the [[Rally for the Republic|RPR]], the [[Union for a French Democracy|UDF]] or the [[Independent Republicans]] – all supported economic liberalism. The so-called right-wing of the [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist Party]]: [[François Hollande]], [[Dominique Strauss-Kahn]], [[Ségolène Royal]] have done likewise.

Some rightists, such as [[Nicolas Sarkozy]], favour radical change in the relationship between the government and the free-market. They argue that for the last 30 years, under both left-wing and right-wing governments, the French have been misled into believing that things could go on without real ''reforms''. One may say that they favour a [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcherite]] approach. Others on the right (including [[Dominique de Villepin]]) as well as some on the left argue in favour of gradual reforms. In comparison, the 2005 refusal of the French electorate to [[2005 French European Constitution referendum|vote for the proposed European Constitution]] was interpreted by some – in particular the [[French Communist Party]] and far-left parties such as [[Workers' Struggle|LO]] or the [[Revolutionary Communist League (France)|LCR]] – as a popular refusal of ''libéralisme'', which the European Union is perceived to embody. Some such as [[Laurent Fabius]] have argued that the Socialist Party should thus have a more "left-wing" line.

[[Libertarianism]] as such is rare in France; it is considered a form of [[ultra-liberalism]] or [[neo-liberalism]] and upheld only by very few right-wingers, such as [[Alain Madelin]].