Michel Rocard
Encyclopedia
Michel Rocard is a French politician, member of the Socialist Party
(PS). He served as Prime Minister
under François Mitterrand
from 1988 to 1991, during which he created the Revenu minimum d'insertion
(RMI), a social minimum welfare program for indigents, and led the Matignon Accords
regarding the status of New Caledonia
. He is currently a member of the European Parliament
, and has been strongly involved in European policies. As of August 2007, he has accepted a mission in a Commission under the authority of Sarkozy
's Minister of Education, Xavier Darcos
.
(Hauts-de-Seine
) in a Protestant
family, son of the nuclear physicist
Yves Rocard
, and entered politics as a student leader whilst studying at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (a.k.a. Sciences-Po). He became Chair of the French Socialist Students (linked to the main French Socialist party at the time, the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO)), and studied at the École nationale d'administration
(ENA). A finance inspector
(senior official) and anti-colonialist
, he went to Algeria
and wrote a report regarding the widely ignored refugee
camps of the Algerian War (1954–62). This report was leaked to the newspapers Le Monde
and France Observateur
in April 1959, almost costing Rocard his job.
Having left the SFIO because of Guy Mollet
's position towards the Algerian war, he led the dissident Unified Socialist Party
(PSU) from 1967 to 1974. He was a prominent figure during the May 68 crisis, supporting the auto-gestionary
project. He ran in the 1969 presidential election
but obtained only 3.6% of the vote. Some months later, he was elected deputy for the Yvelines
département, defeating the former Prime minister Maurice Couve de Murville
. He lost his parliamentary seat in 1973, but retook it in 1978.
In 1973–74, he participated in the LIP conflict, selling watches with the workers and participating, behind the scenes, in the attempts to find an employer who would take back the factory, which was on the verge of being liquidated.
In 1974, he joined François Mitterrand
and the renewed Socialist Party
(PS), which had replaced the old SFIO. Most of the PSU members and a part of the French and Democratic Confederation of Labour
(CFDT) trade union – generally known in France as the non-Marxist
, "Second Left" – followed him.
Elected mayor of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
in 1977, he led the opposition to Mitterrand inside the Socialist Party (as a candidate of the right-wing of the party). After the defeat of the left at the 1978 legislative election
, he tried to take over the leadership of the party. In spite of his alliance with Pierre Mauroy
, the number 2 of the PS, he lost the Metz Congress
(1979). Being the Socialist Party's most popular politician at the time (including Mitterrand himself), he announced that he would run for president but his "Call of Conflans" did not result in majority support within the PS, and he withdrew his candidacy. Mitterrand was the successful Socialist candidate for the 1981 presidential election
.
From the 1970s to the 1990s, Michel Rocard's group inside the Socialist Party, known as "les rocardiens", advocated a re-alignment of French socialism through a clearer acceptance of the market economy
, more decentralisation
and less state control. It was largely influenced by Scandinavia
n social democracy
, and stood in opposition to Mitterrand's initial agenda of nationalization
, programmed in the 110 Propositions for France
. Nonetheless, the "rocardiens" always remained a minority.
and Minister of Planning from 1981 to 1983 and Minister of Agriculture
from 1983 to 1985. He resigned from the cabinet in due to his opposition to the introduction of the proportional
system for the legislative elections. He hoped, in vain, that Mitterrand would not run for re-election so he could be the PS candidate in the 1988 presidential election
.
After Mitterrand's re-election, he was chosen as Prime Minister (May 1988 – May 1991). Indeed, Rocard was popular and his position, on the right-wing of the PS, corresponded with the slogan of the electoral campaign, "a United France". He formed a cabinet including 4 center-right ministers. As Prime Minister, he led the Matignon Accords
regarding the status of New Caledonia
, which ended the troubles in this overseas territory. His record in office also include a decrease in unemployment and a large-scale reform of the welfare state's financing system. He created a minimum social assistance scheme, the RMI, which was effective in reducing poverty and extended health care and housing assistance for eligible recipients.
The wealth tax (abolished under the previous government of Jacques Chirac) was restored and the CSG (general social contribution) was introduced in 1990 to provide a more egalitarian way of financing social security. Additional day-care services and related services for working mothers and families were introduced, and a new allowance for skilled baby-sitters (L'aide a la famille pour l'emploi d'une AFEAMA) was created in 1990 to promote the employment of skilled baby-minders, recognised by public authorities, through a reduction of insurance contributions and through tax incentives.
In 1990, in an effort to give new impetus to the collective bargaining process and to bring it into line with increases in actual wages, a goal was set up Rocard and his ministers to raise “collectively agreed minimum pay rates". This was based on a study of 164 sectors in both the "general" category (excluding metalworking) and in the metalworking category, each employing more than 10,000 workers. In 1997, however, it was found that only 38% of the "general" sectors had "complied" with the stated goals (i.e. all pay levels were higher than the SMIC), down from 41% in 1990. In metalworking, the proportion of "complying" sectors was only 11%, down from 29% in 1990.
The ALMP (Active Labour Market Policy) was strengthened with increased placement services for the unemployed and new tax subsidies for employers hiring youth as well as the long-term unemployed. To combat political corruption, a law was passed in January 1990 that provided for strict regulation of campaign contributions and personal use of funds for non-governmental organisations. Other measures included increases in minimum social benefits, a major investment in education, the reform of the legal profession, and the modernisation of the public sector. The Rocard Government also raised the minimum wage while spending a lot of money on the wages of public sector employees, particularly tax collectors, postal workers, transport workers, and nurses, Expenditure on culture was significantly increased, while a law was passed (the Evin Act) to regulate smoking in public places, together with the anti-discriminatory Gayssot Act. In the 1989 budget, corporate taxes were reduced by 10 billion francs, taxes on individuals by cut by 5 billion francs, and public spending was increased in line with inflation (4.5%). In addition, the “loi Soisson” of 1989 codified the procedures and requirements for so-called “plans sociaux” for firms laying off more than ten employees, “requiring efforts on the part of firms to avoid layoffs and compensation for workers who did lose their jobs.”
Housing was a major priority of the Rocard Government, as characterised by increases in aid for many housing programmes and the maintenance of the real value of benefits under the housing allowance programme (APL), the first time that its real value had not been reduced by inflation. A new rent law provided the government with the power to issue decrees prohibiting excessive rent increases, while more funds were allocated to social housing. Housing aid was increased by over 8% over 1989, with personalized aid extended to those who had been previously excluded from the housing allowance. More land was also made available in city centres for social housing construction by releasing government land for building.
Basic housing allowances were increased and efforts were made to improve social housing for low-income groups via the Besson Act of 1990, which strengthened the rights of families to find and stay in adequate housing. It was passed in response to the growing problem of homelessness and inadequate housing, and stipulated that "guaranteeing the right to housing is a duty of solidarity for the whole society." The act required local authorities to develop schemes for those in need of housing, as well as to create special funds for assisting the poor in paying for rental deposits or moving expenses.
In October 1988, the National Council of Cities (CNV) was established by decree, together with an inter-ministerial committee. The decree also set up the Délégation interministérielle à la ville (DIV), an interministerial delegation that was allocated the task of co-ordinating urban policy. The purpose of the DIV's establishment was not only to bring an administrative focus to urban policy programmes within other state institutions and policies, but also to ensure that urban policy was given greater importance.
The 1989 housing budget froze the rate of payback for those having difficulty repaying subsidised loans, and the Rocard Government decided that from 1990 onwards the payback rate would be no more than 2.65% a year (the inflation rate at that time). Members of the Socialist Party group called for the transition features of the Mehaignerie Law (introduced under the previous Chirac Government) to be made permanent. Under these features, most rents would not be free, but would instead “be set by negotiation between landlord and tenant and subject to arbitration by conciliation committees, with rent increases being based on comparable rents in the area.” In partial response to this call, a law was passed in January 1989 which called for “spreading out rent increases exceeding 10 percent over six years and required that all proposals from landlords to increase rents had to include proof that there were comparable rents in the neighbourhood.”
In 1991, the Loi de dotation de solidarité urbaine (urban solidarity grant) was passed, which established the urban solidarity grant. This reform intended to bring about greater intercommunal solidarity by redistributing funds from richer communes with fewer social problems to poorer communes with greater social problems. Since its creation, the urban solidarity grant has been upheld as an effective instrument of national solidarity and assistance to the most troubled cities, including rewarding those that put the most effort into providing social housing.
The Loi d'orientation sur la ville was also passed that same year, which sought to bring about a better balance of land uses by requiring developers to include a proportion of social housing in new developments or pay a percentage tax to pay for social housing to be constructed in other locations.
Local housing programmes (PLH) were established in 1991. While the financing of social housing was still done at a national level, planning increasingly became a local responsibility. "Sensitive neighbourhoods" were also introduced, a response to the "suburb crisis", which began as a question of the (urban/technical) decline of large estates, and gradually became about the social and ethnic mix in social housing.
Attempts were also made to encourage integration. A Consultative Commission was established in 1990 to track racism, together with a High Counsel on Integration to document racial segregation. In 1991, another law was passed to prevent local officials from directing immigrants to only certain units in government housing, and a new Urban Ministry was established.
Modifications were also made to some of the harsher legislation introduced by the previous Chirac Government on immigration and the rights of landlords and employers to get rid of unwanted tenants and workers. In addition, government aid to small businesses was increased, while VAT was reduced in an attempt to enliven the market. Retired home-owners and widows, who were reluctant to sell family homes, benefited from legislation passed by the National Assembly in May 1990 which converted the local departmental tax from a property-based tax to one based on income.
In terms of education, expenditure on the national education system rose considerably, from 198 billion francs in 1988 to 250 billion francs in 1991. In addition, the Baccalauréat
was democratised, which was once the preserve of the elite. In 1980, for instance, only 29% of the eligible age group passed it, but in 1995 61% attained it. This improvement was achieved by a law passed in June 1989 that redesigned the curriculum and provided extra support for schools in poor areas. To manage the growing number of university entrants, a plan was developed entitled "University 2000," which significantly increased university budgets and resulted in the building of new universities, including four in the suburbs of Paris, for a total capital investment of 23 billion francs between 1990 and 1995.
Rocard also managed the economy well enough to maintain his high approval ratings right until the end of his tenure as prime minister, as characterised by a fall in the rate of unemployment. By the end of his premiership, Roacrd not only had a good economic record, but also a record of social reform second only to that the Mauroy Government.
, he became leader of the PS by advocating a political "big-bang", that was to say a questioning of the left/right divide
. His speech did not have the desired effect.
In 1992 he was appointed an honorary Companion of the Order of Australia
(AC), Australia's highest civilian honour, "for eminent service to Australian/French relations and the preservation of the Antarctic environment".
Rocard stood as leader of the Socialist Party during only one year, in part because of the PS's complete defeat during the 1994 European elections
. The defeat was in part due to the success of the list of the Left Radicals Movement
, which was covertly supported by President Mitterrand . Consequently, he was toppled by the left-wing of the party and lost his last chance to run for president the next year.
Having lost his deputy's seat in 1993, he became Senator of Yvelines from 1995 to 1997. His supporters within the Socialist Party became allies of candidate Lionel Jospin
, who was Prime Minister in 1997–2002, and then Dominique Strauss-Kahn
.
Since 1994, he has been a member of the European Parliament
, and chaired the Committee on Development and Cooperation (1997–1999), the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
(1999–2002) and the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport. Michel Rocard is known for his hostility for the proposed directives
to allow software patent
s in Europe, and has been an outspoken opponent of what he considers to be sneaky manoeuvres to force the decision on this issue. He has thus played an instrumental role in causing the rejection of the recent directive seeking to enforce software patents on 6 July 2005.
On the French political scene, Rocard presented himself as the political heir of Pierre Mendès-France
, known for his moral rigour, and as the politician who "speaks the truth". After Mitterrand's death, he caused controversy when he said, about the former president, "he was not an honest man". An impersonator mocked him for his problems of elocution.
In the run up to the presidential elections in 2007
, Rocard called for an alliance between the Socialists and the centrist Union for French Democracy
(UDF) party of François Bayrou
in an effort to defeat Union for a Popular Movement
(UMP) candidate Nicolas Sarkozy
. Ségolène Royal
, the PS candidate, rejected any such compromise, lamenting that she was once again obliged to face obstacles from within her own party. Rocard also publicly admitted, after the election, having asked Ségolène Royal to step down in his favor in March 2007, one month before the first round of voting .
Like other Socialist politicians, such as Jack Lang
or Hubert Védrine
, who accepted similar positions, Rocard accepted a post on the Committee on the re-evaluation of the teaching profession, which was placed under the "high authority" of Sarkozy's Minister of Education Xavier Darcos
. Criticized by Medhi Ouraoui, national delegate of the PS, Rocard claimed it was a "democrat's duty" to participate in such Commissions and that he was "not concerned" by the "game of the President of the Republic [consisting of making of such left-wing participations] political symbols". He furthermore explained that he had accepted to speak before the Gracques
' spring university (a group of senior left-wing civil servants who advocated a centrist strategy) because political parties were not suited any more to serious reflexion. Finally, he again claimed that the (Marxist) SFIO had been created in 1905 on a fundamental "ambiguity", that of whether to accept or reject market economy.
Michel is a member of Collegium International
, an organisation of leaders with political, scientific, and ethical expertise whose goal is to provide new approaches in overcoming the obstacles in the way of a peaceful, socially just and an economically sustainable world.
Prime minister : 1988–1991 (Resignation).
Minister of State, minister of Planning and Land Development : 1981–1983.
Minister of Agriculture : 1983–1985 (Resignation).
Electoral mandates
European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
: 1994–2009 (Resignation). Elected in 1994, reelected in 1999, 2004.
Senate of France
Senator of Yvelines : 1995–1997 (Resignation). Elected in 1995.
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Yvelines
(4th constituency) : 1969–1973 / 1978–1981 (Became minister in 1981) / 1986–1988 (Became Prime minister in 1988). Elected in 1969, reelected in 1978, 1981, 1986, 1988
Regional Council
Regional councillor of Île-de-France
: 1978–1988 (Resignation). Elected in 1986.
Municipal Council
Mayor of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
: 1977–1994. Reelected in 1983, 1989.
Municipal councillor of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
: 1977–2001. Reelected in 1983, 1989, 1995.
Political functions
First Secretary (leader) of the Socialist Party (France)
: 1993–1994 (Resignation).
Changes
, India where doctors found he had a blood clot in the brain and was operated. He was discharged from the hospital on 10 July 2007.
The history of France by W. Scott Haine
Poor Women in Rich Countries: The Feminization of Poverty Over the Life Course by Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg
Global Capital, Political Institutions, and Policy Change in Developed Welfare States by Duane Swank
Urban Planning in Europe: International Competition, National Systems and Planning Projects by Paul Newman and Andy Thornley
Macroeconomic policy in open economies by Michele Fratianni, Dominick Salvatore, and Jürgen von Hagen
Hovels to high rise: state housing in Europe since 1850 by Anne Power
François Mitterrand: a study in political leadership by Alastair Cole.
Policies to combat social exclusion: A French-British comparison by Hilary Silver and Frank Wilkinson, International Institute for Labour Studies by Hilary Silver and Frank Wilkinson
(ilo-mirror.library.cornell.edu/public/English/bureau/inst/.../dp8395.pdf).
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). He served as Prime Minister
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...
under 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...
from 1988 to 1991, during which he created the Revenu minimum d'insertion
Revenu minimum d'insertion
The Revenu minimum d'insertion is a French form of social welfare. It is aimed at people without any income who are of working age but do not have any other rights to unemployment benefits...
(RMI), a social minimum welfare program for indigents, and led the Matignon Accords
Matignon Agreements (1988)
Matignon Agreements refers to agreements signed in the Hotel Matignon by Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Jacques Lafleur on June 26, 1988, between loyalists, who wanted to keep New Caledonia as a part of the French Fifth Republic, and separatists, who did not...
regarding the status of New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. He is currently a member of the 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...
, and has been strongly involved in European policies. As of August 2007, he has accepted a mission in a Commission under the authority of Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
's Minister of Education, Xavier Darcos
Xavier Darcos
Xavier Darcos is a French politician, scholar and civil servant currently serving as Minister of Labour.An agrégé professor in literature and general inspector of the National Education system, he has been Mayor of Périgueux, a Senator, and a junior minister in Jean-Pierre Raffarin's...
.
Career
He was born at CourbevoieCourbevoie
Courbevoie is a commune located very close to the centre of Paris, France. The centre of Courbevoie is situated 2 kilometres from the outer limits of Paris and 8.2 km...
(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...
) in a Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
family, son of the nuclear physicist
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
Yves Rocard
Yves Rocard
Yves-André Rocard was a French physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb for France.After obtaining a double doctorate in mathematics and physics he was awarded the professorship in electronic physics at the École normale supérieure in Paris.As a member of a Resistance group during the Second...
, and entered politics as a student leader whilst studying at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (a.k.a. Sciences-Po). He became Chair of the French Socialist Students (linked to the main French Socialist party at the time, the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO)), and studied at 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). A finance inspector
French Civil Service
The French Civil Service is the set of civil servants working for the French government.Not all employees of the state and public institutions or corporations are civil servants; however, the media often incorrectly equate "government employee" or "employee of a public corporation" with...
(senior official) and anti-colonialist
French colonial empires
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
, he went to Algeria
French rule in Algeria
French Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems. From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest...
and wrote a report regarding the widely ignored refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
camps of the Algerian War (1954–62). This report was leaked to the newspapers 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...
and France Observateur
Le Nouvel Observateur
Le Nouvel Observateur is a weekly French newsmagazine. Based in Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation ....
in April 1959, almost costing Rocard his job.
Having left the SFIO because of Guy Mollet
Guy Mollet
Guy Mollet was a French Socialist politician. He led the French Section of the Workers' International party from 1946 to 1969 and was Prime Minister in 1956–1957.-Early life and World War II:...
's position towards the Algerian war, he led the dissident Unified Socialist Party
Unified Socialist Party (France)
The Unified Socialist Party was a socialist political party in France, founded on April 3, 1960. It was originally led by Édouard Depreux , and by Michel Rocard .- History :...
(PSU) from 1967 to 1974. He was a prominent figure during the May 68 crisis, supporting the auto-gestionary
Workers' self-management
Worker self-management is a form of workplace decision-making in which the workers themselves agree on choices instead of an owner or traditional supervisor telling workers what to do, how to do it and where to do it...
project. He ran in the 1969 presidential election
French presidential election, 1969
The 1969 French presidential election took place on 1 June and 15 June 1969. It occurred due to the resignation of President Charles de Gaulle on 28 April 1969. Indeed, De Gaulle had decided to consult the voters by referendum about regionalisation and the reform of the Senate, and he had announced...
but obtained only 3.6% of the vote. Some months later, he was elected deputy for the Yvelines
Yvelines
Yvelines is a French department in the region of Île-de-France.-History:Yvelines was created from the western part of the defunct department of Seine-et-Oise on 1 January 1968 in accordance with a law passed on 10 January 1964 and a décret d'application from 26 February 1965.It gained the...
département, defeating the former Prime minister Maurice Couve de Murville
Maurice Couve de Murville
Maurice Couve de Murville was a French diplomat and politician who was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1958 to 1968 and Prime Minister from 1968 to 1969 under the presidency of General de Gaulle....
. He lost his parliamentary seat in 1973, but retook it in 1978.
In 1973–74, he participated in the LIP conflict, selling watches with the workers and participating, behind the scenes, in the attempts to find an employer who would take back the factory, which was on the verge of being liquidated.
In 1974, he joined 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...
and 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), which had replaced the old SFIO. Most of the PSU members and a part of the French and Democratic Confederation of Labour
Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail
-External links:*...
(CFDT) trade union – generally known in France as the non-Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, "Second Left" – followed him.
Elected mayor of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
Conflans-Sainte-Honorine is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris from the center....
in 1977, he led the opposition to Mitterrand inside the Socialist Party (as a candidate of the right-wing of the party). After the defeat of the left at the 1978 legislative election
French legislative election, 1978
The French legislative elections took place on 12 March and 19 March 1978 to elect the 6th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic.On 2 April 1974 President Georges Pompidou died. The non-Gaullist center-right leader Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was elected to succeed him...
, he tried to take over the leadership of the party. In spite of his alliance with Pierre Mauroy
Pierre Mauroy
Pierre Mauroy is a French Socialist politician and former Prime Minister under François Mitterrand . Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. Mauroy is currently emeritus mayor of Lille.-Biography:...
, the number 2 of the PS, he lost the Metz Congress
Metz Congress
The Metz Congress was the seventh national congress of the French Socialist Party which took place on 6, 7 and 8 April 1979...
(1979). Being the Socialist Party's most popular politician at the time (including Mitterrand himself), he announced that he would run for president but his "Call of Conflans" did not result in majority support within the PS, and he withdrew his candidacy. Mitterrand was the successful Socialist candidate for the 1981 presidential election
French presidential election, 1981
The French presidential election of 1981 took place on 10 May 1981, giving the presidency of France to François Mitterrand, the first Socialist president of the Fifth Republic....
.
From the 1970s to the 1990s, Michel Rocard's group inside the Socialist Party, known as "les rocardiens", advocated a re-alignment of French socialism through a clearer acceptance of the market economy
Market economy
A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
, more decentralisation
Décentralisation
Décentralisation is a french word for both a policy concept in French politics from 1968-1990, and a term employed to describe the results of observations of the evolution of spatial economic and institutional organization of France....
and less state control. It was largely influenced by Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
, and stood in opposition to Mitterrand's initial agenda of nationalization
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
, programmed in the 110 Propositions for France
110 Propositions for France
110 Propositions for France was the name of the Socialist Party's program for the 1981 presidential election during which the Socialist Party's candidate, François Mitterrand, was elected by 51.76% of the people...
. Nonetheless, the "rocardiens" always remained a minority.
Serving in government
Under Mitterrand's first presidency, he was Minister of Territorial DevelopmentMinister of Territorial Development (France)
The Minister of Rural Areas and Spatial Planning is a cabinet member in the Government of France....
and Minister of Planning from 1981 to 1983 and Minister of Agriculture
Minister of Agriculture (France)
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing of France is the governmental body charged with regulation and policy, for agriculture, fisheries, forestry and food.The department is headquartered in Hotel Villeroy, at No...
from 1983 to 1985. He resigned from the cabinet in due to his opposition to the introduction of the proportional
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
system for the legislative elections. He hoped, in vain, that Mitterrand would not run for re-election so he could be the PS candidate in the 1988 presidential 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...
.
After Mitterrand's re-election, he was chosen as Prime Minister (May 1988 – May 1991). Indeed, Rocard was popular and his position, on the right-wing of the PS, corresponded with the slogan of the electoral campaign, "a United France". He formed a cabinet including 4 center-right ministers. As Prime Minister, he led the Matignon Accords
Matignon Agreements (1988)
Matignon Agreements refers to agreements signed in the Hotel Matignon by Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Jacques Lafleur on June 26, 1988, between loyalists, who wanted to keep New Caledonia as a part of the French Fifth Republic, and separatists, who did not...
regarding the status of New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, which ended the troubles in this overseas territory. His record in office also include a decrease in unemployment and a large-scale reform of the welfare state's financing system. He created a minimum social assistance scheme, the RMI, which was effective in reducing poverty and extended health care and housing assistance for eligible recipients.
The wealth tax (abolished under the previous government of Jacques Chirac) was restored and the CSG (general social contribution) was introduced in 1990 to provide a more egalitarian way of financing social security. Additional day-care services and related services for working mothers and families were introduced, and a new allowance for skilled baby-sitters (L'aide a la famille pour l'emploi d'une AFEAMA) was created in 1990 to promote the employment of skilled baby-minders, recognised by public authorities, through a reduction of insurance contributions and through tax incentives.
In 1990, in an effort to give new impetus to the collective bargaining process and to bring it into line with increases in actual wages, a goal was set up Rocard and his ministers to raise “collectively agreed minimum pay rates". This was based on a study of 164 sectors in both the "general" category (excluding metalworking) and in the metalworking category, each employing more than 10,000 workers. In 1997, however, it was found that only 38% of the "general" sectors had "complied" with the stated goals (i.e. all pay levels were higher than the SMIC), down from 41% in 1990. In metalworking, the proportion of "complying" sectors was only 11%, down from 29% in 1990.
The ALMP (Active Labour Market Policy) was strengthened with increased placement services for the unemployed and new tax subsidies for employers hiring youth as well as the long-term unemployed. To combat political corruption, a law was passed in January 1990 that provided for strict regulation of campaign contributions and personal use of funds for non-governmental organisations. Other measures included increases in minimum social benefits, a major investment in education, the reform of the legal profession, and the modernisation of the public sector. The Rocard Government also raised the minimum wage while spending a lot of money on the wages of public sector employees, particularly tax collectors, postal workers, transport workers, and nurses, Expenditure on culture was significantly increased, while a law was passed (the Evin Act) to regulate smoking in public places, together with the anti-discriminatory Gayssot Act. In the 1989 budget, corporate taxes were reduced by 10 billion francs, taxes on individuals by cut by 5 billion francs, and public spending was increased in line with inflation (4.5%). In addition, the “loi Soisson” of 1989 codified the procedures and requirements for so-called “plans sociaux” for firms laying off more than ten employees, “requiring efforts on the part of firms to avoid layoffs and compensation for workers who did lose their jobs.”
Housing was a major priority of the Rocard Government, as characterised by increases in aid for many housing programmes and the maintenance of the real value of benefits under the housing allowance programme (APL), the first time that its real value had not been reduced by inflation. A new rent law provided the government with the power to issue decrees prohibiting excessive rent increases, while more funds were allocated to social housing. Housing aid was increased by over 8% over 1989, with personalized aid extended to those who had been previously excluded from the housing allowance. More land was also made available in city centres for social housing construction by releasing government land for building.
Basic housing allowances were increased and efforts were made to improve social housing for low-income groups via the Besson Act of 1990, which strengthened the rights of families to find and stay in adequate housing. It was passed in response to the growing problem of homelessness and inadequate housing, and stipulated that "guaranteeing the right to housing is a duty of solidarity for the whole society." The act required local authorities to develop schemes for those in need of housing, as well as to create special funds for assisting the poor in paying for rental deposits or moving expenses.
In October 1988, the National Council of Cities (CNV) was established by decree, together with an inter-ministerial committee. The decree also set up the Délégation interministérielle à la ville (DIV), an interministerial delegation that was allocated the task of co-ordinating urban policy. The purpose of the DIV's establishment was not only to bring an administrative focus to urban policy programmes within other state institutions and policies, but also to ensure that urban policy was given greater importance.
The 1989 housing budget froze the rate of payback for those having difficulty repaying subsidised loans, and the Rocard Government decided that from 1990 onwards the payback rate would be no more than 2.65% a year (the inflation rate at that time). Members of the Socialist Party group called for the transition features of the Mehaignerie Law (introduced under the previous Chirac Government) to be made permanent. Under these features, most rents would not be free, but would instead “be set by negotiation between landlord and tenant and subject to arbitration by conciliation committees, with rent increases being based on comparable rents in the area.” In partial response to this call, a law was passed in January 1989 which called for “spreading out rent increases exceeding 10 percent over six years and required that all proposals from landlords to increase rents had to include proof that there were comparable rents in the neighbourhood.”
In 1991, the Loi de dotation de solidarité urbaine (urban solidarity grant) was passed, which established the urban solidarity grant. This reform intended to bring about greater intercommunal solidarity by redistributing funds from richer communes with fewer social problems to poorer communes with greater social problems. Since its creation, the urban solidarity grant has been upheld as an effective instrument of national solidarity and assistance to the most troubled cities, including rewarding those that put the most effort into providing social housing.
The Loi d'orientation sur la ville was also passed that same year, which sought to bring about a better balance of land uses by requiring developers to include a proportion of social housing in new developments or pay a percentage tax to pay for social housing to be constructed in other locations.
Local housing programmes (PLH) were established in 1991. While the financing of social housing was still done at a national level, planning increasingly became a local responsibility. "Sensitive neighbourhoods" were also introduced, a response to the "suburb crisis", which began as a question of the (urban/technical) decline of large estates, and gradually became about the social and ethnic mix in social housing.
Attempts were also made to encourage integration. A Consultative Commission was established in 1990 to track racism, together with a High Counsel on Integration to document racial segregation. In 1991, another law was passed to prevent local officials from directing immigrants to only certain units in government housing, and a new Urban Ministry was established.
Modifications were also made to some of the harsher legislation introduced by the previous Chirac Government on immigration and the rights of landlords and employers to get rid of unwanted tenants and workers. In addition, government aid to small businesses was increased, while VAT was reduced in an attempt to enliven the market. Retired home-owners and widows, who were reluctant to sell family homes, benefited from legislation passed by the National Assembly in May 1990 which converted the local departmental tax from a property-based tax to one based on income.
In terms of education, expenditure on the national education system rose considerably, from 198 billion francs in 1988 to 250 billion francs in 1991. In addition, the Baccalauréat
Baccalauréat
The baccalauréat , often known in France colloquially as le bac, is an academic qualification which French and international students take at the end of the lycée . It was introduced by Napoleon I in 1808. It is the main diploma required to pursue university studies...
was democratised, which was once the preserve of the elite. In 1980, for instance, only 29% of the eligible age group passed it, but in 1995 61% attained it. This improvement was achieved by a law passed in June 1989 that redesigned the curriculum and provided extra support for schools in poor areas. To manage the growing number of university entrants, a plan was developed entitled "University 2000," which significantly increased university budgets and resulted in the building of new universities, including four in the suburbs of Paris, for a total capital investment of 23 billion francs between 1990 and 1995.
Rocard also managed the economy well enough to maintain his high approval ratings right until the end of his tenure as prime minister, as characterised by a fall in the rate of unemployment. By the end of his premiership, Roacrd not only had a good economic record, but also a record of social reform second only to that the Mauroy Government.
Life after the premiership
Michel Rocard's poor relations with François Mitterrand, notably during his mandate as Prime Minister, were notorious. In addition, the Socialists only held a small parliamentary majority. In 1991, when his popularity decreased, President Mitterrand forced him to resign. However, according to Mauroy, who led the party, Rocard stood as the "natural candidate" for the following presidential elections. After the 1993 electoral disasterFrench 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...
, he became leader of the PS by advocating a political "big-bang", that was to say a questioning of the left/right divide
Left-Right politics
The left–right political spectrum is a common way of classifying political positions, political ideologies, or political parties along a one-dimensional political spectrum. The perspective of Left vs. Right is a binary interpretation of complex questions...
. His speech did not have the desired effect.
In 1992 he was appointed an honorary Companion of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(AC), Australia's highest civilian honour, "for eminent service to Australian/French relations and the preservation of the Antarctic environment".
Rocard stood as leader of the Socialist Party during only one year, in part because of the PS's complete defeat during the 1994 European elections
European Parliament election, 1994
The 1994 European Parliamentary Election was a European election held across the 12 European Union member states in June 1994.This election saw the merge of the European People's Party and European Democrats, an increase in the overall number of seats and a fall in overall turnout to...
. The defeat was in part due to the success of the list of the Left Radicals Movement
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...
, which was covertly supported by President Mitterrand . Consequently, he was toppled by the left-wing of the party and lost his last chance to run for president the next year.
Having lost his deputy's seat in 1993, he became Senator of Yvelines from 1995 to 1997. His supporters within the Socialist Party became allies of candidate 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...
, who was Prime Minister in 1997–2002, and then Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique 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...
.
Since 1994, he has been a member of the 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...
, and chaired the Committee on Development and Cooperation (1997–1999), the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs is a committee of the European Parliament.- Chairman :2009 - : -External links:*...
(1999–2002) and the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport. Michel Rocard is known for his hostility for the proposed directives
Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions
The Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions , procedure number 2002/0047 was a proposal for a European Union directive aimed to harmonise national patent laws and practices concerning the granting of patents...
to allow software patent
Software patent
Software patent does not have a universally accepted definition. One definition suggested by the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure is that a software patent is a "patent on any performance of a computer realised by means of a computer program".In 2005, the European Patent Office...
s in Europe, and has been an outspoken opponent of what he considers to be sneaky manoeuvres to force the decision on this issue. He has thus played an instrumental role in causing the rejection of the recent directive seeking to enforce software patents on 6 July 2005.
On the French political scene, Rocard presented himself as the political heir of Pierre Mendès-France
Pierre Mendès-France
Pierre Mendès France was a French politician. He descended from a Portuguese Jewish family that moved to France in the sixteenth century.-Third Republic and World War II:...
, known for his moral rigour, and as the politician who "speaks the truth". After Mitterrand's death, he caused controversy when he said, about the former president, "he was not an honest man". An impersonator mocked him for his problems of elocution.
In the run up to the presidential elections in 2007
French presidential election, 2007
The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France for a five-year term.The winner, decided on 5 and 6 May 2007, was Nicolas Sarkozy...
, Rocard called for an alliance between the Socialists and the centrist Union for French Democracy
Union for French Democracy
The Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's...
(UDF) party of François Bayrou
François Bayrou
François Bayrou is a French centrist politician, president of Union for French Democracy since 1998 and was a candidate in the 2002 and 2007 French presidential elections. In the first round, he received 18.6% of the vote, finishing in 3rd place and therefore was eliminated from the race....
in an effort to defeat Union for a Popular Movement
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
(UMP) candidate Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
. 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...
, the PS candidate, rejected any such compromise, lamenting that she was once again obliged to face obstacles from within her own party. Rocard also publicly admitted, after the election, having asked Ségolène Royal to step down in his favor in March 2007, one month before the first round of voting .
Like other Socialist politicians, such as Jack Lang
Jack 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...
or Hubert Védrine
Hubert Védrine
Hubert 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...
, who accepted similar positions, Rocard accepted a post on the Committee on the re-evaluation of the teaching profession, which was placed under the "high authority" of Sarkozy's Minister of Education Xavier Darcos
Xavier Darcos
Xavier Darcos is a French politician, scholar and civil servant currently serving as Minister of Labour.An agrégé professor in literature and general inspector of the National Education system, he has been Mayor of Périgueux, a Senator, and a junior minister in Jean-Pierre Raffarin's...
. Criticized by Medhi Ouraoui, national delegate of the PS, Rocard claimed it was a "democrat's duty" to participate in such Commissions and that he was "not concerned" by the "game of the President of the Republic [consisting of making of such left-wing participations] political symbols". He furthermore explained that he had accepted to speak before the Gracques
Gracques
The Gracques, named after the Gracchi brothers, are a French Social liberal think-tank.During the French presidential election of 2007, a group of former high-ranking civil servants published an open letter titled Merci, François ! , and signed "Les Gracques", in Le Point of 22 March 2007...
' spring university (a group of senior left-wing civil servants who advocated a centrist strategy) because political parties were not suited any more to serious reflexion. Finally, he again claimed that the (Marxist) SFIO had been created in 1905 on a fundamental "ambiguity", that of whether to accept or reject market economy.
Michel is a member of Collegium International
Collegium International
International Ethical, Scientific and Political Collegium, also called Collegium International is a high-level group created in 2002.-Origin:...
, an organisation of leaders with political, scientific, and ethical expertise whose goal is to provide new approaches in overcoming the obstacles in the way of a peaceful, socially just and an economically sustainable world.
Political career
Governmental functionsPrime minister : 1988–1991 (Resignation).
Minister of State, minister of Planning and Land Development : 1981–1983.
Minister of Agriculture : 1983–1985 (Resignation).
Electoral mandates
European Parliament
Member of the 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...
: 1994–2009 (Resignation). Elected in 1994, reelected in 1999, 2004.
Senate of France
Senator of Yvelines : 1995–1997 (Resignation). Elected in 1995.
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Yvelines
Yvelines
Yvelines is a French department in the region of Île-de-France.-History:Yvelines was created from the western part of the defunct department of Seine-et-Oise on 1 January 1968 in accordance with a law passed on 10 January 1964 and a décret d'application from 26 February 1965.It gained the...
(4th constituency) : 1969–1973 / 1978–1981 (Became minister in 1981) / 1986–1988 (Became Prime minister in 1988). Elected in 1969, reelected in 1978, 1981, 1986, 1988
Regional Council
Regional councillor of Île-de-France
Île-de-France (région)
Île-de-France is the wealthiest and most populated of the twenty-two administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area....
: 1978–1988 (Resignation). Elected in 1986.
Municipal Council
Mayor of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
Conflans-Sainte-Honorine is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris from the center....
: 1977–1994. Reelected in 1983, 1989.
Municipal councillor of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
Conflans-Sainte-Honorine is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris from the center....
: 1977–2001. Reelected in 1983, 1989, 1995.
Political functions
First Secretary (leader) 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...
: 1993–1994 (Resignation).
Rocard's Ministry, 12 May 1988 – 15 May 1991
- Michel Rocard – Prime Minister
- Roland DumasRoland DumasRoland Dumas is a lawyer and French Socialist politician who served notably as Foreign Minister under President François Mitterrand from 1984 to 1986 and from 1988 to 1993...
– Minister of Foreign Affairs - Edith CressonÉdith CressonÉdith Cresson is a French politician. She was the first and so far only woman to have held the office of Prime Minister of France.- French Prime Minister :Cresson was appointed to the prime ministerial post by President François Mitterrand on 15 May 1991...
– Minister of European Affairs - 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 Defense - Pierre JoxePierre JoxePierre Joxe is a former French Socialist politician and has been a member of the Constitutional Council of France since 2001....
– Minister of the Interior - Pierre BérégovoyPierre BérégovoyPierre Eugène Bérégovoy was a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1992 to 1993.-Early career:...
– Minister of Economy, Finance, Budget, and Privatization - Roger Fauroux – Minister of Industry
- Michel DelebarreMichel DelebarreMichel Delebarre is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Nord department, and is a member of the Socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche. He is also mayor of Dunkirk ....
– Minister of Employment and Social Affairs - Pierre ArpaillangePierre ArpaillangePierre Arpaillange is a French author, senior judge and former Government Minister.-Career:After obtaining his law degree, Arpaillange began a judicial career in 1949...
– Minister of Justice - Lionel JospinLionel JospinLionel 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...
– Minister of National Education, Sport, Research, and Technology - 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...
– Minister of Culture and Communication - Henri NalletHenri NalletHenri Nallet is a French politician. He is a member of the Socialist Party.He was twice Minister of Agriculture between 1985 and 1986, and between 1988 and 1990. He also was the Minister of Justice between 1990 and 1992.-References:...
– Minister of Agriculture and Forests - Maurice FaureMaurice FaureMaurice Faure at Azerat, Dordogne is a former member of the French Resistance and a former minister in several French governments....
– Minister of Housing and Equipment - Louis MermazLouis MermazLouis Mermaz is a French politician. He became an ally of François Mitterrand in the late 1950s and in 1971 became a member of Mitterrand's staff in the French Socialist Party. From 1981 to 1986, he was president of the French National Assembly. He served as Minister of Agriculture from 1990 to...
– Minister of Transport - Jean PoperenJean PoperenJean Poperen was a French politician.Poperen joined the Communist Party at 18, and was also a member of the Union of Communist Students. He left the PCF after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and became a founding member of the Unified Socialist Party in 1960...
– Minister of Relations with Parliament - Jacques Pelletier – Minister of Cooperation and Development
- Paul QuilèsPaul QuilèsPaul Quilès is a French Socialist politician.-Biography:He was born in Sig, Algeria.Deputy of Tarn département, close to Laurent Fabius, he was Defense Minister from 1985 to 1986, after the Rainbow Warrior scandal...
– Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and Space - Michel DurafourMichel DurafourMichel Durafour is a Jewish, French left wing politician. He served in many government posts under Jacques Chirac, Raymond Barre and Michel Rocard, and was mayor of Saint-Étienne from 1965 to 1977....
– Minister of Civil Service - Roger Fauroux – Minister of External Commerce
- 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 Sea
Changes
- 22–23 June 1988 – Michel DelebarreMichel DelebarreMichel Delebarre is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Nord department, and is a member of the Socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche. He is also mayor of Dunkirk ....
succeeds Mermaz as Minister of Transport and Le Pensec as Minister of Sea. The office of Minister of Social Affairs is abolished, but Claude EvinClaude ÉvinClaude Evin is a French politician and lawyer.He was first elected in 1978. Prior to becoming a Member of Parliament, Claude Evin was the deputy mayor of Saint-Nazaire, a post he held until 1989...
enters the ministry as Minister of Solidarity, Health, and Social Protection. Jean-Pierre SoissonJean-Pierre SoissonJean-Pierre Soisson is a French politician of the Union for a Popular Movement who is a deputy in the National Assembly of France for the first district of Yonne....
succeeds Delebarre as Minister of Employment, becoming also Minister of Labour and Vocational Training. 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....
becomes Minister of Overseas Departments and Territories. Jean-Marie-Rausch succeeds Fauroux as Minister of External Commerce. Hubert CurienHubert CurienHubert Curien was a French physicist and a key figure in European science politics, as the President of CERN , the first chairman of the European Space Agency , and second President of the Academia Europæa and a President of Fondation de France.-Biography:Born in Cornimont, Vosges in Lorraine,...
succeeds Jospin as Minister of Research and Technology. Jospin remains Minister of National Education and Sport. Michel DurafourMichel DurafourMichel Durafour is a Jewish, French left wing politician. He served in many government posts under Jacques Chirac, Raymond Barre and Michel Rocard, and was mayor of Saint-Étienne from 1965 to 1977....
becomes Minister of Administrative Reforms as well as Minister of Civil Service. - 28 June 1988 – Jack Lang becomes Minister of Great Works and Bicentenary in addition to being Minister of Culture and Communication.
- 22 February 1989 – Michel DelebarreMichel DelebarreMichel Delebarre is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Nord department, and is a member of the Socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche. He is also mayor of Dunkirk ....
succeeds Faure as Minister of Housing and Equipment, remaining also Minister of Transport. - 2 October 1990 – The office of Minister of European Affairs is abolished. Henri NalletHenri NalletHenri Nallet is a French politician. He is a member of the Socialist Party.He was twice Minister of Agriculture between 1985 and 1986, and between 1988 and 1990. He also was the Minister of Justice between 1990 and 1992.-References:...
succeeds Arpaillange as Minister of Justice. Louis MermazLouis MermazLouis Mermaz is a French politician. He became an ally of François Mitterrand in the late 1950s and in 1971 became a member of Mitterrand's staff in the French Socialist Party. From 1981 to 1986, he was president of the French National Assembly. He served as Minister of Agriculture from 1990 to...
succeeds Nallet as Minister of Agriculture and Forests. The office of Minister of Bicentenary is abolished. Jack Lang remains minister of Culture, Communication and Great Works. - 21 December 1990 – Michel DelebarreMichel DelebarreMichel Delebarre is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Nord department, and is a member of the Socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche. He is also mayor of Dunkirk ....
becomes Minister of City. Louis Besson succeeds Delebarre as Minister of Transport, Housing, Sea, and Equipment. - 29 January 1991 – Pierre JoxePierre JoxePierre Joxe is a former French Socialist politician and has been a member of the Constitutional Council of France since 2001....
succeeds Chevènement as Minister of Defense. Philippe MarchandPhilippe MarchandPhilippe Marchand is a French politician.He was member of the parliament and president of the general council of Charente-Maritime. He failed to act to establish the Giacometti Foundation....
succeeds Joxe as Minister of the Interior.
Health
In June 2007, Rocard was admitted at Calcutta Medical Research Institute, KolkataKolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, India where doctors found he had a blood clot in the brain and was operated. He was discharged from the hospital on 10 July 2007.
Sources for social reforms carried out by Michel Rocard's government
France since 1870: Culture, Politics and Society by Charles SowerineThe history of France by W. Scott Haine
Poor Women in Rich Countries: The Feminization of Poverty Over the Life Course by Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg
Global Capital, Political Institutions, and Policy Change in Developed Welfare States by Duane Swank
Urban Planning in Europe: International Competition, National Systems and Planning Projects by Paul Newman and Andy Thornley
Macroeconomic policy in open economies by Michele Fratianni, Dominick Salvatore, and Jürgen von Hagen
Hovels to high rise: state housing in Europe since 1850 by Anne Power
François Mitterrand: a study in political leadership by Alastair Cole.
Policies to combat social exclusion: A French-British comparison by Hilary Silver and Frank Wilkinson, International Institute for Labour Studies by Hilary Silver and Frank Wilkinson
(ilo-mirror.library.cornell.edu/public/English/bureau/inst/.../dp8395.pdf).
External links
- Speech of Michel Rocard denouncing the methods of some who push for software patents in Europe (in French) Michel Rocard règle ses comptes avec le socialisme à la française (Le MondeLe MondeLe 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...
).