Lionel Jospin
Encyclopedia
Lionel Jospin is a French politician, who served as Prime Minister of France
from 1997 to 2002.
Jospin was the Socialist Party
candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002. He was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac
in 1995. He ran for President again in 2002, and was stunningly eliminated in the first round due to finishing behind both Chirac and the far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen
, following which he immediately announced his retirement from politics.
(Hauts-de-Seine
), a suburb of Paris. He attended the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly before studying at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris and the École nationale d'administration
(ENA). He was active in the UNEF
students' union, protesting against the war in Algeria
(1954–62). He completed his military service as an officer in charge of armoured training in Trier (Germany).
, future leader of the MEDEF employers' union.
Representative of a generation of left-wingers who criticized the old SFIO Socialist Party, he joined a Trotskyist group, the Internationalist Communist Organization (OCI) in the 1960s, before entering the renewed Socialist Party
(PS) in 1971. Integrating François Mitterrand
's circle, he became the second highest-ranking member of the party in 1979, then its First Secretary when Mitterrand was elected President of France in 1981. When President Mitterrand decided, in 1982–1983, to change his economic policy in giving the priority at the struggle against inflation and for a hard currency, Jospin justified his choice in saying the Socialist power open just a "parenthesis". In 1984, when Laurent Fabius
was chosen as Prime minister, a rivalry appeared between these two political heirs of Mitterrand. It broke out when they competed for the leadership of the 1986 legislative campaign
.
In 1988, after Mitterrand's re-election
, he left the PS leadership, and, though the President considered naming him Prime Minister, he was nominated Minister of Education
. His rivalry with Fabius intensified and caused an internal crisis, notably during the Rennes Congress
(1990). Indeed, the mitterrandist group in the party split because Jospin' followers allied with the others factions to prevent the election of Fabius as First Secretary. These events damaged his relation with President Mitterrand and, after the failure of the Socialist Party at the March 1992 local elections, Jospin was not included in the new government formed by Pierre Bérégovoy
.
As a member of the National Assembly, Jospin served first as a representative of Paris (1978–86), and then of Haute-Garonne
département (1986–88). Jospin lost his seat in the National Assembly in the Socialists' landslide defeat in the 1993 legislative election
and announced his political retirement.
In 1993, Lionel Jospin was appointed ministre plénipotentiaire, 2nd class (a rank of ambassador), a position that he held until his appointment as Prime Minister in 1997. He was, however, not appointed to any embassy.
Finally, he came back and claimed the necessity to "take stock" of the mitterrandist inheritance so as to restore the credibility of the Socialist Party. In this, he was selected to be the Socialist candidate for President in 1995, against the PS leader Henri Emmanuelli
. Following the Socialists' landslide defeats of 1992–1994, Jospin was considered to have little chance of victory. But he did surprisingly well, leading the first round and losing only very narrowly to Jacques Chirac
in the final runnoff election. Despite defeat, his performance was seen to mark a revival of the Socialists as a strong force in French politics and he returned to being the First Secretary of the party.
He built a new coalition with the other left-wing parties: the French Communist Party
, the Greens, the Left Radical Party
and the dissident Citizen and Republican Movement
. Two years later, Chirac decided to call an early election for the National Assembly, hoping for a personal endorsement. But the move backfired as the "Plural Left" obtained a parliamentary majority and Jospin became Prime Minister.
Member of the Club of Madrid
.
" government under President Jacques Chirac from 1997 to 2002.
Despite his previous image as a rigid socialist, Jospin went on selling state-owned enterprises, lowered the VAT
rate, income tax and company tax.
His government also introduced the 35-hour workweek
, provided additional health insurance for those on the lowest incomes through the creation of CMU
(which made health care in France a universal right, and was regarded by Lionel Jospin
and Martine Aubry
as one of the “beacons” of their incumbency), promoted the representation of women in politics, and created the PACS
– a civil partnership or union between two people, whether of opposite genders or not. During his term, with the help of a favorable economic situation, unemployment fell by 900,000. There were several women but no members of ethnic minorities in Jospin's government.
Some structural barriers to employment were removed by making it easier to combine income from work with income from social transfers. Capital incomes were taxed more heavily, while various measures were introduced which benefited lower social strata and improved their purchasing power.
Employees were the sole beneficiaries of lowered welfare contributions. Welfare benefits were raised, while income tax progression was increased, with tax cuts benefiting lower-income groups more strongly than higher-groups. Lower-income sections of the population received targeted support, and almost all tax measures introduced by the Jospin Government sought to stimulate demand and reduce inequality. Between 1997 and 2002, purchasing power as a proportion of household revenue from by 16%, the biggest five-year increase in over twenty years. In addition, total government spending rose 8.9% from 1997 to 2002. Altogether, the social and economic policies implemented by the Jospin Government helped to reduce social and economic inequalities, with income inequality in terms of the Gini coefficient falling between 1997 and 2001.
Other important reforms introduced by Jospin's government included:
(1.) The optimization of extra earnings for RMI recipients.
(2.) The introduction of CMU
.
(3.) Guaranteeing supplies of telephone, water, and electricity services for the impoverished, such as by paying off outstanding bills.
(4.) Increased housing allowances and subsidized housing “concomitant with the introduction of a tax on unused apartments”.
(5.) Direct levels of assistance to groups with special problems on the labour market (including low-skilled persons, older unemployed persons, young people, and the long-term unemployed) through the provision of integration, internship, and continuing education programs, personal guidance and mentoring, and wage subsidies.
Jospin mostly steered clear of foreign policies during his time in government. However, in 2000, he denounced Hezbollah's "terrorist attacks against Israel
i soldiers and civilian populations", a position markedly more pro-Israel than that of president Chirac. On 26 February, when visiting Birzeit University
, stones were thrown at him by Palestinian
students, resulting in a minor injury.
Jospin was a candidate in the presidential campaign of 2002
. While he appeared to have momentum in the early stages, the campaign came to be focused mainly on law-and-order issues, in which, it was argued, the government had not achieved convincing results; this coincided with a strong focus of the media on a number of egregious crime cases. The Prime Minister was also strongly criticized by the far left for his moderate economic policies, which, they contended, were not markedly different from that of a right-wing government favoring businesses and free markets. Many left-wing candidates contested the election, gaining small percentages of the vote in the first ballot, chipping away at Jospin's support. As a result, Jospin narrowly polled in third place, behind Chirac and the Front National leader Jean-Marie Le Pen
, and thus did not go through to the runoff second round of voting.
Following his defeat in April 2002, Jospin immediately declared his decision to leave politics and stepped down as Prime Minister. He has since made episodic comments on current political affairs; for instance, he declared his opposition to same-sex marriage
. In 2005, he returned to the national political scene by campaigning forcefully in favor of the proposed European Constitution.
In 2006, Jospin made it known that he was "available" to be the Socialist candidate for the 2007 presidential election. When Ségolène Royal
became ascendant in the polls, however, Jospin retracted his candidacy in order not to "divide the party".
Prime Minister : 1997–2002.
Minister of State, Minister of National Education and Sport : 1988–1992.
Electoral mandates
European Parliament
Member of European Parliament
: 1984–1988 (Became minister). Elected in 1984.
National Assembly of France
Member of National Assembly of France for Paris : 1981–1986. Elected in 1981.
Member of National Assembly of France for Haute-Garonne
: 1986–1988 (Became minister) / 1992–1993. Elected in 1986, reelected in 1988, 1992.
Regional Council
Regional councillor of Midi-Pyrénées
: 1992–1997 (Resignation).
General Council
General councillor of Haute-Garonne
: 1988–2002 (Resignation). Reelected in 1994, 2001.
Municipal Council
Councillor of Paris : 1977–1986 (Resignation). Reelected in 1983.
Political function
First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France)
(Leader) : 1981–1988 (Resignation) / 1995–1997 (Resignation). Reelected in 1983, 1985, 1987.
Changes
's party (the Internationalist Communist Organization, OCI) after his entrance in the Socialist Party in 1971. Jospin was recruited into the OCI, when he was studying at the ENA, by Boris Fraenkel
, one of the founder of the OCI. He became an active member of the OCI after quitting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1968, under the pseudonym of "Michel." Although he declined to locate with precision his rupture with the Lambertists, Le Monde
newspaper alleged it was in 1986–87, a year before becoming minister, while Lambert himself implicitly situated it in 1988. Jospin himself stated that he had only maintained "private relationship" with OCI members after his entrance to the PS.
Jospin had concealed before this relationship with the OCI, which followed a strategy of entrism into other parties, and specifically denied it when asked about it later (he claimed in 1995 that this rumor came from a confusion with his brother Olivier). In 2001, investigative journalists and successive revelations by former Communist associates showed him to have been lying, and he confessed the truth.
Prime Minister of France
The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
from 1997 to 2002.
Jospin was the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002. He was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
in 1995. He ran for President again in 2002, and was stunningly eliminated in the first round due to finishing behind both Chirac and the far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
, following which he immediately announced his retirement from politics.
Early life
Lionel Jospin was born to a Protestant family in MeudonMeudon
Meudon is a municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the département of Hauts-de-Seine. It is located from the center of Paris.-Geography:...
(Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine is designated number 92 of the 101 départements in France. It is part of the Île-de-France region, and covers the western inner suburbs of Paris...
), a suburb of Paris. He attended the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly before studying at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris and the École nationale d'administration
École nationale d'administration
The École Nationale d'Administration , one of the most prestigious of French graduate schools , was created in 1945 by Charles de Gaulle to democratise access to the senior civil service. It is now entrusted with the selection and initial training of senior French officials...
(ENA). He was active in the UNEF
Union nationale des étudiants de france
The National Union of Students of France is the main national students' union in France....
students' union, protesting against the war in Algeria
Algerian War of Independence
The Algerian War was a conflict between France and Algerian independence movements from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria's gaining its independence from France...
(1954–62). He completed his military service as an officer in charge of armoured training in Trier (Germany).
Career
After his graduation from the ENA in 1965, he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as secretary of Foreign Affairs. He became in charge of economical cooperation there, and worked with Ernest-Antoine SeillièreErnest-Antoine Seillière
Ernest-Antoine Seillière de Laborde, born 20 December 1937 in Neuilly-sur-Seine is an entrepreneur and the heir to the Wendel empire ....
, future leader of the MEDEF employers' union.
Representative of a generation of left-wingers who criticized the old SFIO Socialist Party, he joined a Trotskyist group, the Internationalist Communist Organization (OCI) in the 1960s, before entering the renewed Socialist Party
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
(PS) in 1971. Integrating François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
's circle, he became the second highest-ranking member of the party in 1979, then its First Secretary when Mitterrand was elected President of France in 1981. When President Mitterrand decided, in 1982–1983, to change his economic policy in giving the priority at the struggle against inflation and for a hard currency, Jospin justified his choice in saying the Socialist power open just a "parenthesis". In 1984, when Laurent Fabius
Laurent Fabius
Laurent Fabius is a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister from 17 July 1984 to 20 March 1986. He was 37 years old when he was appointed and is, so far, the youngest Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic.-Early life:...
was chosen as Prime minister, a rivalry appeared between these two political heirs of Mitterrand. It broke out when they competed for the leadership of the 1986 legislative campaign
French legislative election, 1986
The French legislative elections took place on 16 March 1986 to elect the 8th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. Contrary to other legislative elections of the Fifth Republic, the electoral system used was that of Party-list proportional representation.Since the 1981 election of François...
.
In 1988, after Mitterrand's re-election
French presidential election, 1988
Presidential elections were held in France on 24 April and 8 May 1988.In 1981, the Socialist Party leader, François Mitterrand, was elected President of France and the Left won the legislative election. However, in 1986, the Right regained a parliamentary majority. President Mitterrand was forced...
, he left the PS leadership, and, though the President considered naming him Prime Minister, he was nominated Minister of Education
Minister of National Education (France)
The Ministry of National Education, Youth, and Sport , or simply "Minister of National Education," as the title has changed no small number of times in the course of the Fifth Republic) is the French government cabinet member charged with running France's public educational system and with the...
. His rivalry with Fabius intensified and caused an internal crisis, notably during the Rennes Congress
Rennes Congress
The Rennes Congress was the thirteenth national congress of the French Socialist Party . It took place from 15 to 18 March 1990....
(1990). Indeed, the mitterrandist group in the party split because Jospin' followers allied with the others factions to prevent the election of Fabius as First Secretary. These events damaged his relation with President Mitterrand and, after the failure of the Socialist Party at the March 1992 local elections, Jospin was not included in the new government formed by Pierre Bérégovoy
Pierre Bérégovoy
Pierre Eugène Bérégovoy was a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1992 to 1993.-Early career:...
.
As a member of the National Assembly, Jospin served first as a representative of Paris (1978–86), and then of Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Garonne river. Its main city is Toulouse.-History:Haute-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc.The...
département (1986–88). Jospin lost his seat in the National Assembly in the Socialists' landslide defeat in the 1993 legislative election
French legislative election, 1993
French legislative elections took place on 21 and 28 March 1993 to elect the 10th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic.Since 1988, President François Mitterrand and his Socialist cabinets had relied on a relative parliamentary majority. Without the support of the Communists, Prime minister...
and announced his political retirement.
In 1993, Lionel Jospin was appointed ministre plénipotentiaire, 2nd class (a rank of ambassador), a position that he held until his appointment as Prime Minister in 1997. He was, however, not appointed to any embassy.
Finally, he came back and claimed the necessity to "take stock" of the mitterrandist inheritance so as to restore the credibility of the Socialist Party. In this, he was selected to be the Socialist candidate for President in 1995, against the PS leader Henri Emmanuelli
Henri Emmanuelli
Henri Emmanuelli is a French politician.A member of the Socialist Party , he has been deputy for Landes from 1978 to 1981, from 1986 to 1997 and since 2000.-Biography:...
. Following the Socialists' landslide defeats of 1992–1994, Jospin was considered to have little chance of victory. But he did surprisingly well, leading the first round and losing only very narrowly to Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
in the final runnoff election. Despite defeat, his performance was seen to mark a revival of the Socialists as a strong force in French politics and he returned to being the First Secretary of the party.
He built a new coalition with the other left-wing parties: the French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
, the Greens, the Left Radical Party
Left Radical Party
The Radical Party of the Left is a minor social-liberal, and in opposition to its common understanding of its name, a moderate centre-left political party in France advocating radicalism, secularism to its french extend known as laïcité, progressivism, pro-Europeanism, individual freedom and...
and the dissident Citizen and Republican Movement
Citizen and Republican Movement
The Citizen and Republican Movement is a political party in France. The party replaced, in 2002, the Citizens' Movement founded by Jean-Pierre Chevènement, who left the Socialist Party in 1993 due to his opposition to the Persian Gulf War and to the Maastricht Treaty...
. Two years later, Chirac decided to call an early election for the National Assembly, hoping for a personal endorsement. But the move backfired as the "Plural Left" obtained a parliamentary majority and Jospin became Prime Minister.
Member of the Club of Madrid
Club of Madrid
The Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community. Composed of 80 former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 56 countries, the Club de Madrid is the world’s largest forum of former Heads of State and Government.Among...
.
Prime Minister
Jospin served as Prime Minister during France's third "cohabitationCohabitation (government)
Cohabitation in government occurs in semi-presidential systems, such as France's system, when the President is from a different political party than the majority of the members of parliament. It occurs because such a system forces the president to name a premier that will be acceptable to the...
" government under President Jacques Chirac from 1997 to 2002.
Despite his previous image as a rigid socialist, Jospin went on selling state-owned enterprises, lowered the VAT
Vat
Vat or VAT may refer to:* A type of container such as a barrel, storage tank, or tub, often constructed of welded sheet stainless steel, and used for holding, storing, and processing liquids such as milk, wine, and beer...
rate, income tax and company tax.
His government also introduced the 35-hour workweek
35-hour workweek
The 35-hour working week is a measure adopted first in France, in February 2000, under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's Plural Left government; it was pushed by Minister of Labour Martine Aubry. The previous legal duration of the working week was 39 hours, which had been established by François...
, provided additional health insurance for those on the lowest incomes through the creation of CMU
CMU
CMU may stand for a university:*Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States*Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States*Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada...
(which made health care in France a universal right, and was regarded by Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin is a French politician, who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.Jospin was the Socialist Party candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002. He was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac in 1995...
and Martine Aubry
Martine Aubry
Martine Aubry is a French politician. She has been the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party since November 2008 and Mayor of Lille since March 2001...
as one of the “beacons” of their incumbency), promoted the representation of women in politics, and created the PACS
Pacte civil de solidarité
In France, a pacte civil de solidarité commonly known as a PACS /paks/ , is a form of civil union between two adults for organising their joint life. It brings rights and responsibilities, but less so than marriage...
– a civil partnership or union between two people, whether of opposite genders or not. During his term, with the help of a favorable economic situation, unemployment fell by 900,000. There were several women but no members of ethnic minorities in Jospin's government.
Some structural barriers to employment were removed by making it easier to combine income from work with income from social transfers. Capital incomes were taxed more heavily, while various measures were introduced which benefited lower social strata and improved their purchasing power.
Employees were the sole beneficiaries of lowered welfare contributions. Welfare benefits were raised, while income tax progression was increased, with tax cuts benefiting lower-income groups more strongly than higher-groups. Lower-income sections of the population received targeted support, and almost all tax measures introduced by the Jospin Government sought to stimulate demand and reduce inequality. Between 1997 and 2002, purchasing power as a proportion of household revenue from by 16%, the biggest five-year increase in over twenty years. In addition, total government spending rose 8.9% from 1997 to 2002. Altogether, the social and economic policies implemented by the Jospin Government helped to reduce social and economic inequalities, with income inequality in terms of the Gini coefficient falling between 1997 and 2001.
Other important reforms introduced by Jospin's government included:
- The “law against social exclusion” (1998), which extended social security and introduced various measures to combat poverty. These included:
(1.) The optimization of extra earnings for RMI recipients.
(2.) The introduction of CMU
CMU
CMU may stand for a university:*Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States*Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States*Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada...
.
(3.) Guaranteeing supplies of telephone, water, and electricity services for the impoverished, such as by paying off outstanding bills.
(4.) Increased housing allowances and subsidized housing “concomitant with the introduction of a tax on unused apartments”.
(5.) Direct levels of assistance to groups with special problems on the labour market (including low-skilled persons, older unemployed persons, young people, and the long-term unemployed) through the provision of integration, internship, and continuing education programs, personal guidance and mentoring, and wage subsidies.
- Continuing improvements in social benefits.
- Increases in the minimum wage.
- The parity law, which obliged all parties to field an identical number of female and male candidates in national elections.
- Increased expenditure on healthcare and education.
- A 3% increase in the RMI and two similar minimum income guarantees (1998), backdated a year.
- A 5% increase in the RMI.
- The introduction of the Allocation Specifique d’attente (ASA), an additional benefit for unemployment persos under the age of 60 who had contributed or at least 40 years to the pension insurance.
- The introduction of l'allocation spécifique d'attente (APA), a home care allowance for the over-60’s which made it possible for beneficiaries to spend their old age at home rather than in a care home.
- The provision of funds for the renovation of public housing.
- The issuing of a decree immediately after the start of its incumbency which boosted the bonus paid to parents at the start of the school year from 420 to 1,600 francs for households with a monthly income of less than 11,600 francs.
- A reduction in employee’s health-insurance contributions, with employee premiums reduced from 6.75 to 0.75%. To compensate for lost revenues, the CSG was raised from 3.5% to 7.5%, while income from rent r capital was taxed more. This almost complete shift of employee’s health-insurance contributions to the welfare tax CGT resulted in the purchasing power of employees rising by circa 1%. The Jospin Government also began taxing capital assets by introducing a tax on savings, particularly life insurance.
- A major reform of the welfare tax CSG, which doubled the percentage share of taxes in the financial structure of the welfare state and resulted in an almost 10% fall in the share of contributions.
- An extension of company pension savings plans to cover small and medium enterprises. The Jospin Government also made it possible for SMEs to jointly establish this kind of fund.
- An increase in revenues from the wealth tax.
- A reduction in the lower marginal tax rate from 10.5% to 7%.
- A rise in taxation on profits from stock options from 40% to 50%.
- An increase in the exemption for the lowest tax bracket (1997).
- The introduction of an “employment premium” (2002), similar to tax credits in the UK and US, providing a state subsidy to low-wage earners. Within a few years, eight million people had benefited from this scheme.
- The introduction of income tax cuts in March and September 2000 which disproportionately favoured low and non-earners.
- The introduction of a state-supervised reserve fund for old-age insurance, which created marginal capital coverage and was designed to protect pension levels from financial-market risks.
- The abolition of taxes on cars and roadways.
- A reduction in taxes on apartment sales, housing, and other fees.
- A 19% increase in spending on education from 1997 to 2002.
- A 13% increase in spending on labour from 1997 to 2002.
- The introduction of paid paternity leave.
- The linking of benefit payments to the cost of living.
- The introduction of a one billion franc emergency package for the unemployed.
- The creation of a benefit for seriously injured or sick children.
- The creation of a benefit to encourage women to re-enter the labour market.
- A reduction in social contributions for low-income workers.
- The introduction of mandatory civics instruction in secondary schools.
- A reform of women's rights and anonymous childbirth.
- The introduction of financial support for child illness care, together with parental time-off obligations.
- The introduction of special education support (parents d'enfants handicapés).
- The introduction of educational assistance for school returnees.
- A law against the prostitution of minors, providing penal measures for clients.
- A Law against paedophile pornography.
- The establishment of the association "Childhood and the Media," against violence in the media.
- The establishment of the "Plan Handiscole" for the education of handicapped children and adolescents, and their integration into life at school.
- The establishment of various programmes for transportation, both mass and individual.
- The establishment of the programme "Tourism And The Handicapped" ("Tourisme et handicap").
- The re-launching of the Educational Priority Zones.
- The establishment of a government student lunch programme.
- The implementation of language instruction as a priority in primary schools.
- The establishment of a national home-tutoring programme.
- Creation of programs for parental involvement in schools, together with national campaigns for the elections of parent-representatives.
- The establishment of local education and citizenship education contracts.
- The launching of "Initiatives citoyennes," to teach children how to live together.
- The passage of a law designed to safeguard children's rights and campaign against violence in schools.
- The launching of a campaign against "hazing" of children.
- The launching of a campaign against violence and racketeering, accompanied by the implementation of an "SOS Violence" telephone number.
- The establishment of a right of an employee to take time off work if a child of the family was seriously ill. This was supported by a grant which replaced lost income to some extent, and provided financial support to parents going back to work following a child’s illness.
- The creation of 40,000 new child care places.
- An improved housing allowance.
- Improvements in the handicapped employment service, COTOREP.
- The introduction of measures to upgrade handicapped access to public transport together with all types of buildings used by members of the general public.
- The introduction of longer fixed contracts.
- An extension of the right to asylum.
- The passage of a law against discrimination (on sexual, racial, physical grounds, etc.) to bring French law into line with new EU anti-discrimination legislation.
- The Solidarity and Urban Renewal Law (2000), which required that at least 20% of the housing stock in all urban municipalities over 3,500 inhabitants should consist of social housing.
- The passage of a law on sexual equality in the workplace, including an article repealing the ban on night work for women, in order to comply with EU sex equality legislation.
- The introduction of various measures to enhance facilities and benefits for people with disabilities.
- A turnaround of the justice system, which was aimed at ensuring that a defendant really is innocent until proven guilty.
- The setting up of a FRF 500 million budget to fund partly the training benefit payable to unemployed persons (1998).
- An enhancement of the universal CMU health scheme, through the abolition of the spending ceiling for dentistry and the extension of the 'direct settlement' system for former benefit recipients whose income now exceeded the statutory ceiling.
- The passage of a law to reform employee savings schemes The main purpose of this legislation was to increase the duration and scope of employee savings schemes, by extending them to employees of small and medium-sized businesses and increasing the 'lock-in' period for employee savings from 5 to 10 years.
- The establishment (within the framework of a policy to improve coverage for industrial diseases) of a compensation fund for asbestos victims.
- The strengthening of measures aimed at reintegrating the very long-term unemployed into the workforce (1998).
- A conditional amnesty for illegal immigrants, with some 75,000 obtaining legal residence as a result.
- A social security funding law for 2002 which, amongst other measures, provided a general rise in pensions and increased paternity leave (from 3 to 11 days).
- The setting up of emergency groups in each département coordinated by the senior local representatives of the government at département level (préfets), with the objective of examining individual payments to those most in need (1998).
- An overhaul of housing assistance scales.
- The passage of a law on 'new economic regulations,' which aimed at adding an 'ethical' aspect to financial practices, “clarifying competition rules, improving social dialogue and enforcing the rights of consumers.” In terms of industrial relations, the new law strengthened (to some extent) the powers of works councils in takeovers, mergers and proposed share exchanges.
- The introduction of a law on gender equality at work. This legislation removed the ban on night work for women, and introduced new regulations for this type of work, with covered all employees.
- The 'social modernisation' bill, which included work-related provisions such as measures to combat 'moral harassment' (bullying) at work, measures to combat precarious employment (through restrictions on fixed-term contracts), and improved accreditation of vocational skills and experience. The law also contained a wide range of redundancy provisions such as the requirement to convene negotiations on the 35-hour week prior to any redundancy plan, enhanced powers for works councils, a contribution to the regeneration of closed sites by companies with a workforce of over 1,000, nine-month redeployment leave for redundant workers, and the doubling of the minimum redundancy compensation.
Jospin mostly steered clear of foreign policies during his time in government. However, in 2000, he denounced Hezbollah's "terrorist attacks against Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i soldiers and civilian populations", a position markedly more pro-Israel than that of president Chirac. On 26 February, when visiting Birzeit University
Birzeit University
Birzeit University is a university located in Birzeit near Ramallah, Palestinian territories. BZU is among the foremost tertiary educational institutes in the Palestinian territories and has played a significant role in the Palestinian political dialogue.- History :The institution was originally...
, stones were thrown at him by Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
students, resulting in a minor injury.
Jospin was a candidate in the presidential campaign of 2002
French presidential election, 2002
The 2002 French presidential election consisted of a first round election on 21 April 2002, and a runoff election between the top two candidates on 5 May 2002. This presidential contest attracted a greater than usual amount of international attention because of Le Pen's unexpected appearance in...
. While he appeared to have momentum in the early stages, the campaign came to be focused mainly on law-and-order issues, in which, it was argued, the government had not achieved convincing results; this coincided with a strong focus of the media on a number of egregious crime cases. The Prime Minister was also strongly criticized by the far left for his moderate economic policies, which, they contended, were not markedly different from that of a right-wing government favoring businesses and free markets. Many left-wing candidates contested the election, gaining small percentages of the vote in the first ballot, chipping away at Jospin's support. As a result, Jospin narrowly polled in third place, behind Chirac and the Front National leader Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
, and thus did not go through to the runoff second round of voting.
Following his defeat in April 2002, Jospin immediately declared his decision to leave politics and stepped down as Prime Minister. He has since made episodic comments on current political affairs; for instance, he declared his opposition to same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
. In 2005, he returned to the national political scene by campaigning forcefully in favor of the proposed European Constitution.
In 2006, Jospin made it known that he was "available" to be the Socialist candidate for the 2007 presidential election. When Ségolène Royal
Ségolène Royal
Marie-Ségolène Royal , known as Ségolène Royal, is a French politician. She is the president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council, a former member of the National Assembly, a former government minister, and a prominent member of the French Socialist Party...
became ascendant in the polls, however, Jospin retracted his candidacy in order not to "divide the party".
Political offices held
Governmental functionsPrime Minister : 1997–2002.
Minister of State, Minister of National Education and Sport : 1988–1992.
Electoral mandates
European Parliament
Member of European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
: 1984–1988 (Became minister). Elected in 1984.
National Assembly of France
Member of National Assembly of France for Paris : 1981–1986. Elected in 1981.
Member of National Assembly of France for Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Garonne river. Its main city is Toulouse.-History:Haute-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc.The...
: 1986–1988 (Became minister) / 1992–1993. Elected in 1986, reelected in 1988, 1992.
Regional Council
Regional councillor of Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrénées is the largest region of metropolitan France by area, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark.Midi-Pyrénées has no historical or geographical unity...
: 1992–1997 (Resignation).
General Council
General councillor of Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Garonne river. Its main city is Toulouse.-History:Haute-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc.The...
: 1988–2002 (Resignation). Reelected in 1994, 2001.
Municipal Council
Councillor of Paris : 1977–1986 (Resignation). Reelected in 1983.
Political function
First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France)
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
(Leader) : 1981–1988 (Resignation) / 1995–1997 (Resignation). Reelected in 1983, 1985, 1987.
Jospin's Ministry, 2 June 1997 – 6 May 2002
- Lionel Jospin – Prime Minister
- Hubert VédrineHubert VédrineHubert Védrine is a French Socialist politician.Diplomatic adviser of President Mitterrand, he served as secretary-general of the presidency from 1991 to 1995, then as Foreign Minister in the government of Lionel Jospin from 1997 to 2002.After the reelection of Jacques Chirac in May 2002, Védrine...
– Minister of Foreign Affairs - Alain RichardAlain RichardAlain Richard, born on 29 August 1945, in Paris, is a French politician. An alumnus of the Ecole nationale d'administration, he was mayor of Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône and member of the French parliament, elected in Val d'Oise. A member of the French socialist party and ally of Lionel Jospin, he was the...
– Minister of Defense - Jean-Pierre ChevènementJean-Pierre ChevènementJean-Pierre Chevènement is a French politician. He was Minister of Defense from 1988 to 1991 and Minister of the Interior from 1997 to 2000. He was a presidential candidate in 2002 and since 2008 has been a member of the Senate....
– Minister of the Interior - Dominique Strauss-KahnDominique Strauss-KahnDominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn , often referred to in the media, and by himself, as DSK, is a French economist, lawyer, politician, and member of the French Socialist Party...
– Minister of Economy, Finance, and Industry - Martine AubryMartine AubryMartine Aubry is a French politician. She has been the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party since November 2008 and Mayor of Lille since March 2001...
– Minister of Employment and Solidarity - Elisabeth GuigouÉlisabeth GuigouÉlisabeth Guigou is a French Socialist politician.-Biography:After attending ENA, France's elite graduate school of public affairs, she worked on Jacques Delors' staff in 1982 before being hired by Hubert Védrine in François Mitterrand's...
– Minister of Justice - Claude AllègreClaude AllègreClaude Allègre is a French politician and scientist.- Scientific work :The main scientific area of Claude Allègre is geochemistry....
– Minister of National Education, Research, and Technology. - Catherine TrautmannCatherine TrautmannCatherine Trautmann is a former Minister of Culture of France and now Member of the European Parliament for the East of France.She was elected as mayor of Strasbourg in 1989, re-elected in 1995, then defeated in 2001....
– Minister of Culture and Communication - Louis Le PensecLouis Le PensecLouis Le Pensec is a French politician. He is a member of the Socialist Party. Between 1973 and 1997, he was a member of the Parliament.Since 27 September 1998, he is a Senator of Finistère....
– Minister of Agriculture and Forests - Dominique VoynetDominique VoynetDominique Voynet was a French senator for the département of Seine-Saint-Denis, the mayor of Montreuil and a member of The Greens.-Life:...
– Minister of Environment and Regional Planning - Marie-George BuffetMarie-George BuffetMarie-George Buffet is a French politician. She was the head of the French Communist Party from 2001 to 2010. She joined the Party in 1969, and was the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports from June 4, 1997 to May 5, 2002. Ms...
– Minister of Youth and Sport - Jean-Claude GayssotJean-Claude GayssotJean-Claude Gayssot is a French politician. A member of the French Communist Party , he was Minister of Transportation in Lionel Jospin 's government, from 1997 to 2002. He gave his name to the 1990 Gayssot Act repressing Holocaust denial and speech in favor of racial discrimination...
– Minister of Transport, Housing, and Equipment - Daniel VaillantDaniel VaillantDaniel Vaillant is a French Socialist politician.-Biography:Close to Lionel Jospin, Vaillant held several ministerial portfolios in his cabinets: Minister of the Relations with Parliament from 1997 to 2000 and Interior Minister from 2000 to 2002...
– Minister of Relations with Parliament - Émile ZuccarelliÉmile ZuccarelliÉmile Zuccarelli is a French politician from Corsica. He serves as honorary President of the Radical Party of the Left and mayor of Bastia. Until his defeat in the French legislative election, 2007, he was deputy for Haute-Corse.In the French regional elections, 2004, he led a PRG list in Corse,...
– Minister of Civil Service, Reform of the State, and Decentralization - Nicole PéryNicole PéryNicole Péry, b. 15 May 1943, in Bayonne , is a French socialist politician. Her background is as a professor of literature.- Appointments :*1973, 1978, 1981, 1988: Parliamentary candidate*1977 to 1983: Deputy Mayor of Ciboure...
– Secretary for State for Women
Changes
- 20 October 1998 – Jean GlavanyJean GlavanyJean Glavany is a French politician, member of the Socialist Party and former Minister.From 1981 to 1988, he was head of cabinet of President François Mitterrand . He was then Minister of Agriculture in the Plural Left government of Lionel Jospin...
succeeds Le Pensec as Minister of Agriculture and Forests. - 2 November 1999 – Christian SautterChristian SautterChristian Sautter is a French politician. He served as Minister for Economics, Finance, and Industry from 1999 to 2000 as part of Lionel Jospin's "Plural Left" government.-External links:*...
succeeds Strauss-Kahn as Minister of Economy, Finance, and Industry. - 28 March 2000 – Laurent FabiusLaurent FabiusLaurent Fabius is a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister from 17 July 1984 to 20 March 1986. He was 37 years old when he was appointed and is, so far, the youngest Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic.-Early life:...
succeeds Sautter as Minister of Economy, Finance, and Industry. Jack LangJack Lang (French politician)Jack Mathieu Émile Lang is a French politician. A member of the Socialist Party, he served as France's Minister of Culture from 1981 to 1986 and 1988 to 1992, and as Minister of Education from 1992 to 1993 and 2000 to 2002. He was also the Mayor of Blois from 1989 to 2000...
succeeds Allègre as Minister of National Education, while Roger-Gérard SchwartzenbergRoger-Gérard SchwartzenbergRoger-Gérard Schwartzenberg is a French politician. From 1981 to 1983 he was President of the Movement of Radicals of the Left in the French Parliament.He was born in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques....
succeeds him as Minister of Research and Technology. Catherine TascaCatherine TascaCatherine Tasca is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Yvelines department. She is a member of the Socialist Party; she currently serves as the Senate's vice-president. From 2000 to 2002 she was Minister of Culture in France. She is the daughter of Angelo Tasca a former italian...
succeeds Trautmann as Minister of Culture and Communication. Michel SapinMichel SapinMichel Sapin is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Indre department, and is a member of the Socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche.-Biography:...
succeeds Zuccarelli as Minister of Civil Service and Reform of the State. - 29 August 2000 – Daniel VaillantDaniel VaillantDaniel Vaillant is a French Socialist politician.-Biography:Close to Lionel Jospin, Vaillant held several ministerial portfolios in his cabinets: Minister of the Relations with Parliament from 1997 to 2000 and Interior Minister from 2000 to 2002...
succeeds Chevènement as Minister of the Interior. Jean-Jack QueyranneJean-Jack QueyranneJean-Jack Queyranne is a French politician. He has been the Regional President of the Rhône-Alpes since June 2002 and is a deputy in the National Assembly from the seventh district of Rhône...
succeeds Vaillant as Minister of Relations with Parliament. - 18 October 2000 – Elisabeth GuigouÉlisabeth GuigouÉlisabeth Guigou is a French Socialist politician.-Biography:After attending ENA, France's elite graduate school of public affairs, she worked on Jacques Delors' staff in 1982 before being hired by Hubert Védrine in François Mitterrand's...
succeeds Aubry as Minister of Employment and Solidarity. Marylise LebranchuMarylise LebranchuMarylise Lebranchu is a member of the National Assembly of France. She represents the Finistère department, and is a member of the Socialist Party and of the Socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche parliamentary group.-References:...
succeeds Guigou as Minister of Justice. - 10 July 2001 – Yves CochetYves CochetYves Cochet is a French politician, member of The Greens. He was minister in the government of Lionel Jospin.He wrote Apocalypse pétrole which was published in 2005.-External links:*...
succeeds Voynet as Minister of Environment and Regional Planning. - 25 February 2002 – François PatriatFrançois PatriatFrançois Patriat is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Côte-d'Or department. He is a member of the Socialist Party.-References:*...
succeeds Glavany as Minister of Agriculture and Forests.
Trotskyist affiliation
On 5 June 2001, Lionel Jospin confessed before the Parliament that he had maintained links with a trotskyist formation "in the 1960s" and had maintained links with Pierre LambertPierre Lambert
Pierre Lambert was a French Trotskyist leader, who, for many years acted as the central leader of the French Courant Communiste Internationaliste which founded the Parti des Travailleurs.He was born in Paris to a family of Russian Jewish immigrants...
's party (the Internationalist Communist Organization, OCI) after his entrance in the Socialist Party in 1971. Jospin was recruited into the OCI, when he was studying at the ENA, by Boris Fraenkel
Boris Fraenkel
Boris Fraenkel was a Communist politician active in French and international politics.- To 1950 :...
, one of the founder of the OCI. He became an active member of the OCI after quitting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1968, under the pseudonym of "Michel." Although he declined to locate with precision his rupture with the Lambertists, Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
newspaper alleged it was in 1986–87, a year before becoming minister, while Lambert himself implicitly situated it in 1988. Jospin himself stated that he had only maintained "private relationship" with OCI members after his entrance to the PS.
Jospin had concealed before this relationship with the OCI, which followed a strategy of entrism into other parties, and specifically denied it when asked about it later (he claimed in 1995 that this rumor came from a confusion with his brother Olivier). In 2001, investigative journalists and successive revelations by former Communist associates showed him to have been lying, and he confessed the truth.
External links
- Archives of the official web sites of Prime Minister Jospin: 1997–1998, 1998–2000, 2000–2002
- Text of his major economic speech of Montreal in April 2009: The first lessons from the financial and economic crisis (fr)