Contradictory France
If Lionel Jospin’s Socialist-led government surrenders to the demands of protesters blocking roads and depriving the country of fuel, it will undercut the good news about tax reform
AFTER a batch of tax cuts presented on August 31st—to widespread plaudits—as “the biggest in half a century”, Lionel Jospin, France's prime minister, must have thought he could relax a little. His liberal-minded finance minister, Laurent Fabius, was cock-a-hoop. The government had returned after the holidays with brio. Mr Jospin seemed well set for his run for the presidency in 2002. And then, suddenly, he was mired in the worst political and economic crisis since taking office three years ago.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Contradictory France”
From the September 9th 2000 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Huge anti-Russian protests in Tbilisi echo Ukraine’s Maidan
A turn away from the EU plunges Georgia into crisis
France’s government faces the imminent loss of a vote of confidence
Michel Barnier, the prime minister, has failed to get his budget through parliament
How Ukraine uses cheap AI-guided drones to deadly effect against Russia
Ukraine is making tens of thousands of them
Emmanuel Macron shows off the gloriously restored Notre Dame
Five years after it was gutted by fire, the cathedral is more beautiful than ever
Ursula von der Leyen has a new doctrine for handling the hard right
The boss of the European Commission embarks on a second term
Marine Le Pen spooks the bond markets
She threatens to bring down the French government, but also faces a possible ban from politics