Pierre Mauroy

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Pierre Mauroy
Pierre Mauroy 1990.jpg
Prime Minister of France
In office
22 May 1981 – 17 July 1984
President François Mitterrand
Preceded by Raymond Barre
Succeeded by Laurent Fabius
Mayor of Lille
In office
8 January 1973 – 25 March 2001
Preceded by Augustin Laurent
Succeeded by Martine Aubry
First Secretary of the French Socialist Party
In office
1988–1991
Preceded by Lionel Jospin
Succeeded by Laurent Fabius
President of the Socialist International
In office
1992–1999
Preceded by Willy Brandt
Succeeded by António Guterres
Senator from Nord
In office
2 October 1992 – 30 September 2011
Personal details
Born (1928-07-05) 5 July 1928 (age 84)
Cartignies, Nord
Political party Socialist
Occupation Educator
civil servant
Religion Roman Catholic

Pierre Mauroy (French pronunciation: ​[pjɛʁ moʁwa]; born 5 July 1928) is a French Socialist politician who was Prime Minister of France from 1981 to 1984 under President François Mitterrand. Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. Mauroy is currently emeritus mayor of Lille.

Contents

Biography [edit]

Mauroy was born in Cartignies. A teacher, he led the Socialist Young Movement and the Technique Teaching Union in the 1950s. He became a leading figure in the Socialist federation of Nord département, which was among the third biggest of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) party and climbed quickly in the party. In 1966, he became the second most powerful person of the party behind the secretary general, Guy Mollet. Nevertheless, when Mollet resigned as leader in 1969, Alain Savary was chosen to succeed him.

After the electoral disasters of 1968 and 1969, he was persuaded of the necessity to renew the party. In 1971, during the Epinay Congress, he supported François Mitterrand's advent and became the second most powerful person in the Socialist Party (PS). Two years later, he was elected as a deputy and Mayor of Lille.

Increasingly, Mauroy criticized the ejection of former SFIO members from the important functions in aid of Mitterrand's friends. In this, he formed an alliance with Michel Rocard, the main opponent of Mitterrand, during the 1979 Metz Congress. However, Mitterrand chose him as spokesperson during the 1981 presidential campaign; after Mitterrand's election, he appointed Mauroy as Prime Minister.

Mauroy's government was a radical reforming one, implementing a wide range of social reforms including the reduction of the legal workweek from 40 to 39 hours,[1] the lowering of the retirement age to sixty, and a rise in social welfare benefits. Entitlement to paid holidays was also extended from four to five weeks. During the Mauroy government’s first year in office, minimum pensions were increased by 38%, rent allowances by 50%, family allowances by 25% (50% for households with two children), and the minimum wage by 25%.[2]

During the 1981-82 period, state industrial investment was substantially increased, 17 billion francs in ”soft loan” credit was provided to private industry, 7 billion francs was set aside to help school leavers, 54,000 new civil service jobs were created, and a major housebuilding drive was launched.[3] Efforts were made to shift the burden of direct taxes away from lower- income groups, while increases in the minimum wage gave the low paid a real increase in their living standards of about 15% in 1981–82.[1] Unemployment benefits were also increased, together with the duration of time in which one could receive them.[4]

Upon taking office, the Mauroy Government embarked upon an ambitious redistributive programme. The minimum wage went up in real terms by 11% between May 1981 and September 1982, while the minimum old age pension was increased by 30%. 800,000 elderly people were exempted from paying T.V. licenses, while 1.5 million were also exempted from local taxes. Between May 1981 and January 1983, family benefits were significantly increased, with the purchasing power of the 2,700,000 families with two children raised by 40%. These policies significantly improved the living standards of the less well off in French society,[5] with poverty reduced during Mauroy’s term in office.[6] Family allowances were increased by 81% for families with two children and by 49% for families with three children, while old-age pensions were raised by 300 francs a month for a single person and 3,700 francs for a couple.

Altogether, the purchasing power of social transfers went up by 45% in 1981 and by 7.6% in 1982. Health care coverage was also extended, with health insurance benefits made more widely available to part-time employees and the unemployed.[5] Efforts were also made to promote voluntary retirement at sixty, with a pension ranging upwards from 80% of the SMIC to 50% of a middle-management salary. Elderly people benefited greatly from the social and economic measures undertaken by the Mauroy Government, with the real income of pensioners rising by a quarter.[1]

The harsh immigration statutes of the Giscard Government were reversed, while an immigration law was passed (1981) to limit the grounds for expelling foreigners to facilitate family reunions and amnesty 130,000 illegal immigrants. The anti-discriminatory Professional Equality Law (1983), which defined equality between men and women "in sweeping terms" required all businesses to furnish statistics on the situation of women in the workplace. This legislation marked a new departure in anti-discriminatory efforts and, reinforced by a series of measures taken by the Rocard government in 1989, brought an end to wage differentials hidden by different job descriptions.[2] Decentralising laws were also passed which transferred responsibilities for urban planning to municipalities and economic planning to the regions.[2] In addition, various measures were introduced to improve socio-economic conditions in low-income neighbourhoods.[7][8] In 1982-83, the National Commission for the Social Development of Neighborhoods was founded, together with its Développement Sociale des Quartiers (DSQ) programme. Projects were launched in 148 neighbourhoods to tackle a wide range of problems at the local level (such as those related to justice, housing, public order, local economic development, and education), using an integrated approach involving local partnerships and resident participation.[9] In addition, a collaborative ‘interministerial’ approach to employment and the social rehabilitation of ‘at risk’ youth was adopted, and in 1983 the Banlieue 89 project was instigated for social and educational measures on estates in the educational priority areas. As a result of these policies, urban grants (as a proportion of local authority revenues) significantly increased during the first three years of the Mitterrand presidency, especially in municipalities controlled by the Left.[10]

For public sector workers, a law was passed in 1982 to prevent gender segregation in recruitment and to ensure that the situation was monitored carefully.[11] Working hours were reduced from 40 to 35 for those in continuous process work, while youth training programmes were expanded. In 1983, a small retraining programme was introduced for the long-term unemployed.[12] In 1981, Educational Priority Zones were set up to provide additional resources to schools in depressed areas[13] and to combat academic failure,[14] and boosted State funding for education in over 7,000 schools in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.[15] The 1982 budget increased spending on education by 17%,[16] while the 1983 budget provided tenure for 14,399 “auxiliariat,” teachers were only employed on a casual basis.[17]

The Auroux laws (1982) increased the rights of trade unions and employees in the workplace, covering collective bargaining, representation, information, health and safety, and unfair dismissal. Mandatory collective bargaining at the firm level of industry was introduced, while the laws also strengthened the rules on health and safety in the workplace, bestowing more rights upon the Comites d’hygiene et securite (though not the right to stop production in case of extreme danger), while also granting working-class representatives release time, training for involvement in the comite d’entreprise and other representative bodies in the firm, recourse to expert consultants. Unions acquired rights to organise, to hold meetings in firms, and to call in outside speakers to address the workers. Worker representation on the comite d’rentreprise was increased and the comite was provided with additional powers, such as the right to obtain confidential economic information from the firm to use in advising it on policy. In spite of these positive changes, however, the comite d'entreprise remained a consultative body with little influence on economic policy, while only large firms were required to provide their comite d’enterprises with economic information. This meant that almost two-thirds of the workers were excluded from exercising this oversight function.[18]

A government decree of March 1982 sought to provide greater employment security for the increasing number of workers on part-time and fixed-term contracts by restricting the circumstances in which employers could use such labour (this was largely to ensure that permanent employees were not displaced by cheaper and more easily dismissed part-time workers). The law set out to ensure that such workers receive the same benefits as full-time workers and trade unions were given statutory rights to institute legal proceedings against employers or temporary work agencies if the provisions of the new law were evaded. That same year, the government passed legislation to ensure the full, legal eligibility of women for all civil service posts and an active policy was adopted to encourage them to come forward for promotion. In 1981, legislation was passed which permitted the establishment of local private radio stations. In March 1982, a “Special Statute” was granted to Corsica, which set the territory apart legally from other regions and provided it with additional state subsidies and greater autonomy over cultural, social, economic, and educational policies. Various measures were also introduced to improve conditions for migrants. A new drive began in 1981 to encourage local authorities to establish programmes including literacy programmes, housing schemes, and the setting up of young people’s and women’s groups, and in 1983 France ratified the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers.[19] An Act of January 1984 asserted a right for all parents to benefit from a parental leave of absence for childrearing, providing that they have one year’s seniority. This legislation also allowed parents (under the same conditions) to request part-time work and to shift freely between part-time work and parental leave.[20]

A law on worker’s democracy in public-sector companies was passed in July 1983 which sought to recreate a spirit of tripartism in a sector of the economy where existing statutory rights had failed to provide anything more than a consultative role for representatives. Previously, workers had the right to be represented on the boards of public sector companies with 50 or more staff and were entitled to at least 2 board seats, but under the new legislation, public sector companies (previously nationalized companies plus those companies that were nationalized in 1982 in which the state was the majority shareholder) would be obliged to have tripartite administrative or supervisory boards to which employee representatives would be elected by the workforce.[21]

The Deferre law reduced the powers of the prefect, set up elected regional councils, and increased the powers of local government. The security court was abolished, and measures were introduced to control police harassment. Legal aid was extended, legislation was introduced which effectively combated discrimination against homosexuals, and the traditional powers of the juge d’instruction in the preparation of criminal cases was reduced.[1] The Quillot Law of 1982 provided renters with additional rights in housing matters, while an audiovisual law passed that same year brought an end to the state monopoly of audiovisual broadcasting and established a High Authority to guarantee the independence of public television channels. Laws were passed in 1982 to reform higher education to make the academy more responsive to the needs of the state.[22] High security wings in prisons were abolished, while social security reform increased workers’ representation on the bodies that oversaw the management of the social security schemes. In order to make the elite political academy (the ENA) accessible to a wider section of the population, a special entry pathway was established for those who had held trade union or political office. A new health care policy was implemented, which included the abolition of private beds in hospitals, reform of medical training, modernisation of facilities, and the election of the heads of medical services by the entire staff, rather than just by doctors, as had previously been the case.[23]

The Mauroy Government did much to promote arts, culture, and education, as characterised by a tripling in real terms in state aid to the arts, a quadrupling of spending on public libraries, which led to the number of library loans growing by a third, and the removal of obstacles to cheaper book-retailing.[1] Aid was provided to provincial art museums and local archives for working-class affairs established, while funding to provincial libraries was significantly increased, with the national library budget going up from 163 million to 677 million francs. As a result of this additional library expenditure, 17 departments which had previously lacked a “bibliotheque centrale de pret in 1981 had acquired one by 1986. In addition, as a result of the Mauroy Government's library programme, 10 million more people obtained access to major lending library resources. As Paris’ share of the cultural budget fell from 60% to 45% between 1981 and 1985, the provinces acquired new theatres, artistic centres, music halls, ballet companies, and popular culture facilities.[24] During its first year in office, the Mauroy government increased spending on culture from 0.45% of the national budget to 0.75%, a figure which rose to 0.84% in 1984.[25]

The incomes of the poorest sections of society were increased exponentially as a result of social security reforms and a 25% increase in the minimum wage.[26] Allowances for the handicapped were also increased, while the right to deduct the cost of child care for all children under the age of three was introduced (a right later extended to include all children under the age of five in some cases).[27] Unemployed workers ineligible for jobless benefits were given back the right to claim sickness insurance that they had lost in 1979 while the reimbursal of the costs of dental fees, hearing aids, and glasses was improved. An 80-franc-per-month charge that had been imposed on certain long-term illnesses w as abrogated, and certain individuals who had retired before 1973 had the base upon which their pensions were calculated adjusted upward.[28] Between 1981 and 1983, the minimum vieillesse (the basic pension benefit for the elderly poor) was raised by 62% between 1981 and 1983.[29] In 1983, the unemployment compensation programme was expanded to include workers who had resigned from their jobs.[30] To assist young farmers, the role of the SAFER (Societe d'Amenagemcnt Foncier et d'Etablissement Rural) was extended in 1982 to give preferential aid to this group to enlarge their holdings.[31]

Although the Mauroy government's social policies improved the living standards of the less well-off in French society,[5] its reflationary economic strategy (based on encouraging domestic consumption) failed to improve the French economy in the long term, with increases in the level of inflation as well as in the trade and budget deficits.[26] Although the government’s reflationary policies tended to stabilise unemployment, the number of people out of work topped 2 million, in spite of a pledge made by Mitterrand to keep it below this figure. A large budget deficit emerged, with social benefits and aid to industry alone going up by 50% in the 1982 budget. In addition, private investment failed to respond to the government’s initiatives, with a 12% decline in volume in 1981. This led Mauroy to advocate the abandonment of Socialist economic policies (which failed to reduce unemployment and inflation), a controversial "U-turn" which was ratified by President Mitterrand in March 1983, and a number of austerity measures were subsequently carried out.[32][33][34] Failing to restrict the financing of private schools via the Savary Law,[35] he resigned in 1984.

Pierre Mauroy in 2007.

In 1988 he became First Secretary of the PS against the will of Mitterrand, who supported Laurent Fabius. Until the end of his term, in 1992, he tried to appease the relations between the clans which composed the PS, notably during the very strained 1990 Rennes Congress. He allied with the rocardien group and Lionel Jospin's supporters, who came from the mitterrandist group.

President of the Socialist International from 1992 to 1999, Senator since 1992, he left the Lille belfry in 2001. Considered a moral authority[citation needed] of the French Left, he supported the candidacy of Ségolène Royal during the 2007 primary election.

Political career [edit]

Governmental functions

Prime minister : 1981–1984.[36]

Electoral mandates

European Parliament

Member of European Parliament : 1979–1980 (Resignation).

National Assembly of France

Member of the National Assembly of France for Nord (department) (2nd, then 1st constituency from 1988-1992) : 1973–1981 (Became Prime minister in 1981) / 1984–1992 (Elected senator in 1992). Elected in 1973, reelected in 1978, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1988.[36]

Senate of France

Senator of Nord (department) : 1992–2011. Elected in 1992, reelected in 2001.[36][37]

Regional Council

President of the Regional Council of Nord-Pas-de-Calais : 1974–1981.

Regional councillor of Nord-Pas-de-Calais : 1974–1981 / 1986–1988 (Resignation).

General Council

Vice-president of the General Council of Nord (department) : 1967–1973.

General councillor of Nord (department) : 1967–1973.

Municipal Council

Mayor of Lille : 1973–2001. Reelected in 1977, 1983, 1989, 1995.

Deputy-mayor of Lille : 1971–1973.

Municipal councillor of Lille : 1971–2008. Reelected in 1977, 1983, 1989, 1995, 2001.

Urban community Council

President of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole : 1989–2008. Reelected in 1995, 2001.

Vice-president of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole : 1971–1989. Reelected in 1977, 1983.

Member of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole : 1971–2008. Reelected in 1977, 1983, 1989, 1995, 2001.

Political function

First Secretary (leader) of the Socialist Party (France) : 1988–1992. Elected in 1988.

Mauroy's First Government, 22 May 1981 – 23 June 1981 [edit]

Mauroy's Second Government, 23 June 1981 – 22 March 1983 [edit]

Changes

Mauroy's Third Government, 22 March 1983 – 17 July 1984 [edit]

Changes

  • 4 October 1983 – Paul Quilès succeeds Quiliot as Minister of Town Planning and Housing.
  • 18 December 1983 – Roland Dumas enters the Cabinet as Minister of European Affairs.

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c France since 1870: Culture, Politics, and Society by Charles Sowerine
  2. ^ Politics In France: From Giscard To Mitterrand by Ian Derbyshire
  3. ^ The Welfare State's Other Crisis: Explaining the New Partnership Between Nonprofit Organizations and the State in France by Claire Frances Ullman
  4. ^ a b c Socialists in the Recession: The Search for Solidarity by Giles Radice and Lisanne Radice
  5. ^ http://search.oecd.org/officialdocuments/displaydocumentpdf/?doclanguage=en&cote=eco/wkp(2007)29
  6. ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DOl1ZmaMUEAC&pg=PA76&dq=france+HLM+sports&hl=en&sa=X&ei=MuWrT8bTI4yn8gP42P23CA&ved=0CEgQ6AEwAzgU#v=onepage&q=france%20HLM%20sports&f=false
  7. ^ http://collections.europarchive.org/tna/20080726153624/http:/www.integrationandcohesion.org.uk/~/media/assets/www.integrationandcohesion.org.uk/french_lessons%20pdf.ashx
  8. ^ https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:2CLHWYX-CqEJ:sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cr/CASEreport40.pdf+http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cr/CASEreport40.pdf&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjU-WvV6e4f8xlDnzJDwGRNsPgSWJgONK2-JrKkaLNnXFDirg2T16KeTeIvb1xDkX_PxATA5OTCvkGsfo3cOMQiC6aWU0jxZhTaZObT7KRlpN3nDITQIkjRyjLtNR0AKgZK_I-k&sig=AHIEtbQtM1quI41R1MSuB0Z6KJJQewZA4Q
  9. ^ http://www.palgrave.com/PDFs/1403905673.pdf
  10. ^ France during the socialist years by Gino Raymond
  11. ^ https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:S3-AN7BXIlMJ:spe.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/spe/article/download/11467/8355+michel+rocard+continuing+education+voucher&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjoPlqlNEJeAhVYWRAVI-R4XRBH-xXj54nqWYGW-q4PN98e1fRs5CU9VlZdSz-UJPLNrq54Jd7W9OeKg4AKPsEHC8F_gM2qkjcyOst4EmJ28euCvYwF_061ttxaUvfKZ5WiHzIh&sig=AHIEtbRdm2F203rHDAtukY9VfYw7Saejqg
  12. ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=K5FApcRekMAC&pg=PA112&dq=france+1981+education+priority+zones+deprived&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_O0SUcjHNIeo0AXw3oGoBg&ved=0CFMQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=france%201981%20education%20priority%20zones%20deprived&f=false
  13. ^ http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/mav/89/PIRONET/14098&prev=/search%3Fq%3D1983%2BBanlieue%2B%25E2%2580%259989%2Beducation%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbo%3Dd%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7SUNC_enGB374%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D533&sa=X&ei=pOkSUYCsEoa30QWzzICIBQ&ved=0CDIQ7gEwADgK
  14. ^ https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:2CLHWYX-CqEJ:sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cr/CASEreport40.pdf+http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cr/CASEreport40.pdf&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjU-WvV6e4f8xlDnzJDwGRNsPgSWJgONK2-JrKkaLNnXFDirg2T16KeTeIvb1xDkX_PxATA5OTCvkGsfo3cOMQiC6aWU0jxZhTaZObT7KRlpN3nDITQIkjRyjLtNR0AKgZK_I-k&sig=AHIEtbQtM1quI41R1MSuB0Z6KJJQewZA4Q
  15. ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lMBkwkd4IUUC&pg=PA85&dq=alain+savary+education+spending&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zXoZUbLDJZLL0AWHxoHwAw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=alain%20savary%20education%20spending&f=false
  16. ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=t2fW-4OSREIC&pg=PA242&dq=France+1982+budget+education&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bnsZUZ6LMIek0QXLiIGwAw&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=France%201982%20budget%20education&f=false
  17. ^ Mitterrand’s France Edited by Sonia Mazey and Michael Newman
  18. ^ Mitterrand’s France Edited by Sonia Mazey and Michael Newman
  19. ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DcnZ1lgBOFEC&pg=PA138&dq=france+maternity+leave+1984&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZbwzUdiNHeKj0QWlj4DYAg&ved=0CFYQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=france%20maternity%20leave%201984&f=false
  20. ^ Mitterrand’s France Edited by Sonia Mazey and Michael Newman
  21. ^ Mitterrand: A Political Biography by Wayne Northcutt
  22. ^ The Mitterrand Years: Legacy and Evaluation edited by Mairi Maclean
  23. ^ The French Socialists in Power, 1981-1986: From Autogestion to Cohabitation by Thomas Rodney Christofferson
  24. ^ Mitterrand’s France Edited by Sonia Mazey and Michael Newman
  25. ^ a b Francois Mitterrand: a study in political leadership by Alistair Cole
  26. ^ Mitterrand's France by Sonia Mazey
  27. ^ The French Socialist Experiment (1985) By John S. Ambler
  28. ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_WsgVcUQUxgC&pg=PA54&dq=laurent+fabius+1982+budget+housing&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ScdtUdyFB-fJ0QWA_IGYDg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=laurent%20fabius%201982%20budget%20housing&f=false
  29. ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1NNoy1O7qGIC&pg=PA143&dq=france+1983+early+retirement+55+and+59&hl=en&sa=X&ei=SjF8UdO8GeKy0QXqyIGYDQ&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
  30. ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=uuIOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA61&dq=france+1982+aid+to+farmers&hl=en&sa=X&ei=jsqCUaejJcSh0QXbzYHoAQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=france%201982%20aid%20to%20farmers&f=false
  31. ^ Marxism and the French Left: studies on labour and politics in France, 1830-1981 by Tony Judt
  32. ^ http://www.csmonitor.com/1983/0713/071352.html
  33. ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=p3F-agj4CXcC&pg=PA191&lpg=PA191&dq=nicole+questiaux+social+reforms&source=bl&ots=sNyAU2uL6l&sig=wlLdGLFoJTp5BQO7p2-wQrkQTwI&hl=en#v=onepage&q=nicole%20questiaux%20social%20reforms&f=false
  34. ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=EVNGNIojGgMC&pg=PA313&lpg=PA313&dq=savary+law+1984&source=bl&ots=FSaXbY58bk&sig=eJrnGowjwWw00X2FudFV_HaNcuc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=nS5zUIS0E6me0QXbnoHADw&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=savary%20law%201984&f=false
  35. ^ a b c "Assemblée nationale – Base de données historique des anciens députés" (in French). National Assembly of France. Retrieved 24 February 2010. 
  36. ^ "Pierre MAUROY" (in French). Senate of France. Archived from the original on 24 February 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010. 

External links [edit]

Political offices
Preceded by
Raymond Barre		 Prime Minister of France
1981–1984		 Succeeded by
Laurent Fabius
Party political offices
Preceded by
Lionel Jospin		 First Secretary of the French Socialist Party
1988–1991		 Succeeded by
Laurent Fabius
Preceded by
Willy Brandt		 President of the Socialist International
1992–1999		 Succeeded by
António Guterres


Authority control
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