Five Years of Socialist Economic Policy in France: A Balance Sheet

Nearly five years have elapsed since François Mitterrand assumed the presidency of the French Republic and a socialist-dominated assembly was elected. There have been considerable changes in the rhetoric as well as in the policy measures taken during this period. While references to ‘class warfare’ and to the need for a ‘radical break with capitalism’ were made in Mitterrand’s speeches prior to the 1981 elections, he subsequently spoke about ‘the community of a mixed economy’1 and, finally, in his televised statement of 15 January 1984, stated that ‘it is the enterprise that creates wealth, it is the enterprise that creates employment, it is the enterprise that determines our living standard and our place in the world hierarchy.’