Nothing is more absurd than the situation France finds itself in today. Nothing could be more dangerous. For, behind the extreme cacophony and pathetic job-hunting, what is in the offing is a deadly coalition of the two extremes; an implicit and explicit coalition.
Implicit, because the extremes of left and right are doing their utmost to eliminate anyone who might prevent them from facing each other in the second round of the next presidential election, whenever that may be. And, to do this, they are pushing all the others to govern together, now, in order to discredit them, later, with the unpopular measures that the situation demands.
Explicit, because they have many projects in common: going back to the 60-year retirement age, reducing working hours, drawing closer to Russia, not respecting the common budgetary constraints of the European Union and, ultimately, leaving it.
In fact, if you look closely, there’s nothing surprising about it: these two extreme parties are very similar; both are run like sects, by their founder’s followers and their carefully chosen heirs. Neither is embarrassed by any internal democracy; both define themselves solely by their hatred of a section of the French people, often the same people.
One day, if we’re not careful, this coalition of the worst will lead to the elimination of the democratic parties; and the program of union of the extremes will be put in place, under the leadership of one or the other. At a time when so many major and difficult choices need to be made, this would tip the country over the edge into the decline into which certain signs show it is already heading.
To avoid this, we must first admit what everyone knows: there is no majority on either the left or the right. We would then have to seize the moment and put in place what I would call a “sacrificial government”. Not a government to do nothing, which would disappoint everyone, waiting for one of the two extremes to take power; but a truly sacrificial government, governing in the grumbling silence of the parties, to push through all the urgent, common-sense reforms that the parties haven’t had the courage to make so far, and never will.
So, before we know who will lead it and who will be its ministers, prepared to sacrifice a possible political career, we need to agree on the list of these reforms. For me, it should at least contain the following reforms:
- Setting up a departmental proportional system for legislative elections
- Setting up community policing
- Setting up a national wage conference
- Introduction of a carbon tax, offset by subsidies for the most vulnerable.
- Implement a major reform to combat corruption, and in particular the corruption of elected representatives
- Replace the current pension reform (which, in any case, will yield almost nothing in the next three years, and which has demonstrated the absurdity of not setting both a contribution period and a legal retirement age) with a points-based system, endorsed by many trade unions and which today seems to be the only fair system.
- Introduction of a significant wealth tax, the payment of which could be reduced by the amount reinvested in unlisted companies or allocated to public-interest associations.
- Preparation of a 2025 budget with a deficit of less than 4%. With massive savings in social transfers for the upper classes; temporary tax hikes on the very wealthy and, in exchange, increased resources for the police, defense, education, health and justice.
In the meantime, democratic parties will do what they should have done a long time ago: structure themselves, find new frameworks, implement true internal democracy, and reflect on original and realistic programmatic proposals.
But beware: the French might be wise enough to be grateful to those who will have sacrificed themselves in this way, and entrust them with the exercise of power, for once disinterested.
j@attali.com
Image: Denis Allard/Libération.