New tango in Paris

Lionel Jospin's gamble failed to pay off. The socialists captured Paris and Lyon but lost over 40 other towns. VAIJU NARAVANE on the recent civic polls in France.

IT IS typically March weather, cold, wet and blustery. The chateau of Blois looks grey and forlorn, its gardens sodden, the monotony broken only by lines of snivelling tourists carrying streaming umbrellas. With its dominant position on the fertile Loire valley, Blois is one of the finest examples of France's renaissance architecture and a major centre for art and architecture. The town is beautiful and enjoys a justified reputation for good living - calm, comfortable and easy-paced.

In the past week, however, the atmosphere in Blois has been charged, febrile. In municipal elections held last Sunday, Blois residents unceremoniously dumped their long-time Mayor, the Education Minister, Mr. Jack Lang, to elect a relatively unknownright-wing contender.

``Mr. Lang richly deserved what he got. We are a proud people here and we cannot be taken for granted,'' says Hughette, who for 20 years has worked as the chateau's Damepipi or washroom attendant. ``First he makes a bid for the socialist nomination as Mayor of Paris. Then he accepts a huge ministerial responsibility. When would he have had time for us? He wasn't happy with us. We were too small. He had his eyes set on Paris. Let him remain there. Mr. Lang thought he had us in his pocket. Well, he was wrong,'' she concludes with a satisfied squaring of her shoulders.

Mr. Lang is not the only French Minister to suffer this fate. Ms. Elizabeth Guigou, Minister for Labour, Mr. Pierre Muscovici, Minister for European Affairs, Ms. Dominique Voynet, Minister for Environment, and several other members of the left-wing coalition holding high office were booted out by electors who said they had had enough of politicians who held down two or more elected offices and had no time for their needs or concerns.

The socialists managed to capture France's two largest cities, Paris and Lyon, the first almost by default because of battles within the conservative camp, but lost over 40 large and small towns to the conservatives. This severe verdict was a direct denunciation of the Prime Minister, Mr. Lionel Jospin's somewhat misconceived policy of what the French call ``parachuting'' Ministers to capture Opposition-held towns.

``It was a gamble that did not pay off. I am surprised at Jospin's lack of perspicacity, of sound strategy. He has always consciously cultivated the image of a honest, sincere, hard- working, serious politician. He has never lost an opportunity to criticise the conservatives, especially when he was in the Opposition. I remember the time when Alain Juppe was constantly under attack from Jospin because he was an MP, the Prime Minister, the head of the RPR party and the Mayor of Bordeaux, all at the same time. Jospin quite rightly pointed out that Mr. Juppe could not possibly manage to perform any of these tasks satisfactorily. Why did he then accept that same logic,'' asks the pollster, Mr. Francois Mechet.

In response to his own question, Mr. Mechet points out that there is just one year to go for Presidential elections in France and that Mr. Jospin, like the incumbent, Mr. Jacques Chirac, is burning up with ambition. In deciding on his electoral strategy, Mr. Jospin, explains Mr. Mechet, had next year's legislative and presidential elections in mind.

``French cities are rich. Mayors control the administrative machinery and huge budgets. Paris, for instance, has an annual budget of $4.6 billions. Being Mayor gives you enormous political clout and the more towns a party controls the better prepared it can be for a national electoral campaign. Jospin wanted to batten down the hatches, take as many municipalities as possible. Unfortunately for him, his strategy backfired badly. People reacted negatively. What does a person like Elizabeth Guigou know or care about Avignon? She is not from the region, does not know the town well and is more interested in running her big Ministry in Paris. There was resentment, a lot of bad blood. She lost,'' says the political scientist, Mr. Jacques Debarre.

If Jospin the socialist has been hurt, Chirac the conservative has been wounded. While the conquest of over 40 towns and cities has been touted by the Right as a thumbs down sign for the socialists, the loss of Paris has been a personal blow to the President. Mr. Chirac used the Paris city hall as a launching pad to the French presidency. But in the years following his election several financial scandals came to light. Mr. Chirac decided to drop Mr. Jean Tiberi, his former lieutenant who succeeded him as Mayor of Paris, and did some parachuting of his own in the form of Mr. Philippe Seguin who was foisted upon Parisian voters as the candidate of the unified Right. Mr. Tiberi (who has among other things been accused of falsifying electoral rolls and taking jucy bribes on construction contracts) refused to take his unceremonious ouster lying down. He campaigned hard and managed to split the conservative vote, handing Paris on a golden platter to the socialists. The French capital turned socialist after 130 years of uninterrupted conservative rule.

Municipal elections in France are a bit like reading tea leaves at the bottom of the cup. They are often the first warning salvo of voter discontent. This time voters have told both extremes of the political spectrum, the communists and the extreme right, that in the present political climate, they are becoming redundant. The economy is doing nicely, unemployment is low - the lowest in 13 years - while inflation remains constant at under two per cent. Companies are posting profits and the property market is thriving. As usual, when times are good, extremes lose their appeal. The French communist party lost several traditional strongholds and there are calls for the resignation of the party president, Mr. Robert Hue.

The extreme right too lost the one large town it controlled. It will be difficult for these two groupings to win back voter confidence, especially if the present economic situation lasts.

Mr. Jospin's Government has by and large managed to deliver. Despite the results of the municipal elections opinion polls continue to place the socialists ahead of the conservatives in next year's presidential election.

The socialists' control of Paris city hall could prove disastrous for Mr. Chirac, especially if the new Mayor, Mr. Bertrand Delanoe, decides to start delving into cupboards hitherto kept firmly under lock and key by the conservatives.

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