The Defeat of François Mitterrand’s Reform Program Still Haunts the French Left
Despite Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s strong showing in the recent presidential campaign, France’s left was defeated again by the neoliberal center and far right. The roots of that weakness lie in the Mitterrand government’s capitulation to neoliberalism in the 1980s.
François Mitterrand speaking in Lille, France on February 7, 1986. (Maous / Simon / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
France has once again come out of a presidential election dominated by the outspoken neoliberalism of Emmanuel Macron and the far-right politics of Marine Le Pen. With abstention in the first round at near-record levels, millions again felt forced to vote for Macron as the only remaining barrier to the far right, with the knowledge that he would continue with policies that undermine France’s social model and promote an authoritarian attitude to ethnic minorities and policing.
The first-round performance of Jean-Luc Mélenchon did show the resilience of the Left as a third pole in French politics, and negotiations on left unity for the upcoming legislative elections offer an important chance for that pole to assert itself. But it remains inescapable that, in electoral terms but also in fundamental questions of policy and organization, the French left is a weakened and confused force.
The Mitterrand Watershed
The history of how it came to this point is a long one with many significant moments over the past forty years. However, one date still probably comes up in discussion more than any other: March 1983, when a left-wing government under President François Mitterrand decided to remain in the European Monetary System (EMS) and implement a punishing austerity package.
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