Pointing the way

Reforming France

Pointing the way
Jun 22nd 2009 | PARIS
From Economist.com

Nicolas Sarkozy says that France must change—but not too much

 

 

PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy made French constitutional history on Monday June 22nd by addressing a joint session of the lower and upper houses of parliament, known as Congress. He becomes the first French president to do so since the 19th century. Many opposition deputies boycotted the event, held at the palace of Versailles, once Louis XIV’s royal seat, on the grounds that it breached the principle of the separation of powers. A change to France's constitution passed last year introduced this new presidential privilege. Mr Sarkozy’s appearance, and the wide-ranging speech, carried echoes of the American president’s state-of-the-union address to his Congress—and it contained some surprises.

 

The first was Mr Sarkozy’s firm line on the wearing of the burqa, the Islamic head-to-toe covering, in France. The garment, he declared, was “a sign of subjugation” and as such was “not welcome on French territory”. Underlining the French principle of laïcité, or strict separation of the state and religion, he argued that this protected religious freedom and belief.

 

The question of the burqa was “not a religious problem”, he said, but a question of “the dignity of women”. In 2004, France banned the wearing of “conspicuous” religious symbols, including the Muslim headscarf, in state schools, hospitals and administrative buildings. A group of parliamentarians has now begun a consultation on whether to ban the burqa , which is by definition already outlawed in public institutions, altogether.

 

The matter is delicate, not only because some of France’s Muslim groups consider that such a move would further stigmatise Islam. It also touches a principle that Barack Obama laid out in a recent speech in Cairo aimed at the Muslim world. America’s president said that “it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practising religion as they see fit—for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear.” Muslim women in the French government, however, back the idea of a ban on the burqab. Fadela Amara, the-cities minister, has called it “a coffin that kills fundamental liberties”. With his hard line, Mr Sarkozy seems to be behind a ban, although he will now await the outcome of the parliamentarycom mission.

 

On economic policy, Mr Sarkozy had two underlying messages for the French—one reassuring, the other more menacing. He offered soothing words about the value of the French model in the recession and its ability to protect the most vulnerable from poverty. “The recession has brought the French model back into fashion,” he declared, with a hint of self-satisfaction, stressing not only the shock-absorbing value of its welfare state but also the system of regulation and investment in infrastructure.

 

Mr Sarkozy added, however, that the recession also “powerfully exposes our shortcomings and our weaknesses”. France needed to spend less on its bureaucracy and on running expenses and more on investing in the future, research and the green economy. To change that balance, he said, he promised to continue with reforms, such as trimming the civil service and raising the retirement age, while borrowing more for long-term investment. Taxes, he promised, would not rise. “Let’s have the courage to change” he urged.

 

As always with Mr Sarkozy, there was something for everyone: more protection as well as more competitiveness, a defence of the French way as well as a plea for its overhaul. Whether he can square this circle remains to be seen. The French president is certainly in a stronger position politically than he has been for months, freshly triumphant at European elections and with poll ratings beginning to climb. Street protests and union-led strikes have fizzled out. And the opposition is divided and weak. Politically, this is the best opportunity to press ahead with reforms to improve French competitiveness that he has had for a long time—if he decides to seize it.