29 Sylvia Weinstock, who learned to bake cakes Text: Tatyana Khrylova Photo: Mary Fisk-Taylor of Hayes-Fisk Photography, USA City: New York, USA Age: 81 What she wanted: Create a confectionery brand At 52, Sylvia Weinstock decided to leave her job as a teacher in kindergarten and do

30. Mistress... They never talked about marriage. This topic was taboo, especially for Coco. Did she want to become Arthur Caple's legal wife? Yes, sure. But at the same time, Coco understood that this was hardly possible. Caple belonged to an old family, was a real

Chapter 35. France

Control questions

Chapter 34. Great Britain

Section V. Trends in state and legal development of Western countries in the second half of the 20th century.

Control questions

March - F.D. Roosevelt's accession to the presidency. The beginning of the “New Deal”.

· What is the “Great Depression”?

· Why F.D. Was Roosevelt forced to take emergency measures in the United States?

· How to define Roosevelt’s “New Deal”?

· List the major laws governing industry, banking, and agriculture in the United States in 1933.

· What was the reaction within the country to Roosevelt's innovations?

· Who had the right to raise the question of the unconstitutionality of the “New Deal” measures?

Sources of modern constitutionalism in Great Britain. The absence of a written Constitution in Great Britain, i.e. The Constitution in its formal legal meaning significantly complicates the analysis of modern trends in the country's development. Great Britain does not know of a single act created at the same time that would fulfill the role and functions of the Constitution, therefore, according to the British doctrine of constitutionalism unwritten Constitution Great Britain - these are, firstly, constitutional statutes(Magna Carta Libertatis 1215, Bill of Rights 1689, Acts of Parliament 1911, 1949, Peerage Acts 1963 and 1999, House of Commons Act 1978, etc. - - there are currently more than 40 such statutes).

Also included in the concept of “constitution” are numerous constitutional customs (agreements), for example, agreements regulating the status of the Prime Minister, the composition and functions of the Cabinet of Ministers. According to one of the constitutional agreements, the monarch is obliged to sign an act that was adopted by both houses of parliament; according to another, the monarch is obliged to appoint the leader of the party that wins the elections to the House of Commons as prime minister of the country.

Case law, i.e. The totality of court decisions on constitutional issues also resolved some of the problems of the English unwritten constitution. Thus, the rule “The Crown can do no wrong” was created by precedent several centuries ago in order to relieve the monarch of any responsibility for the decisions he makes. Now, according to the countersignature rule, such responsibility is assigned to the Prime Minister or another member of the British cabinet (Table 13).

Table 13.

Doctrine, i.e. the opinions of famous English constitutionalists (Bracton, Dicey, etc.) on relevant issues, serves as a subsidiary (additional) source of constitutional law and acts in cases where a gap in the law is not regulated by statute, precedent or constitutional agreement.

State and legal development of Great Britain in modern times. Since the beginning of the 20th century. in Great Britain, as in other industrialized countries, there is tendency towards a decline in the role of parliament(“crisis of parliamentary supremacy”) in public legal life. The parliament in Great Britain of the modern period is no longer the body about which it was said that it “can do everything, but cannot transform a man into a woman and vice versa.” The principle of parliamentary supremacy since the beginning of the 20th century. is subject to constant doubt because of the right of the executive branch to issue regulations having the force of law - acts of delegated legislation.

Yes, according to Law on Emergency Powers(1920) prescribed the power of the Crown to issue a decree declaring a state of emergency, and, within the scope of this provision, to grant the power to a minister or representative of another department of the executive branch to issue orders with the force of law.

Emergency Powers Act(1939) in the section “Defense Regulations” contained the right to issue by the executive branch in the person of the Prime Minister acts of delegated legislation in order to “maintain public order.”

At the end of the 20th century. in Great Britain annually, for approximately 2,500 acts of delegated legislation, there were about 80 statutes (Table 14).

Table 14.

Along with large-scale delegated law-making in modern Great Britain, the doctrine of “ parliamentary executive power" which presupposes broad participation of the executive branch in the affairs of the legislative branch. British ministers are not only not deprived of the opportunity to sit in parliament, but, on the contrary: for cabinet members in the House of Commons there is a kind of quota of 95 seats, which almost covers the number (100) of the country's ministries and departments. Therefore, practically only the government has legislative initiative in the House of Commons: no bill will be passed by the House if it does not enjoy government support. In this regard, the parliament of modern Great Britain is sometimes called an “institution under the government.”

The idea of ​​separation of powers in this state of affairs does not exist in its pure form - this was discussed back in the 19th century. said W. Bagehot, author of the English Constitution. Great Britain guarantees law and order in the country merger of executive and legislative powers in parliament and real the power of the cabinet of ministers countries in the process of making responsible decisions.

Democratization of British suffrage in the 20th century. First half of the 20th century was marked by new democratic changes in English electoral law. Thus, in 1918, on the initiative of conservatives, counting on the support of a conservative-minded female electorate, the right to vote was partially granted to women for the first time. Participate in elections according to Representation of the People Act(1918) women who had reached the age of 30 could, if they or their husbands had an annual income of at least 5 f.st.

(1928) extended the right to vote to all women and men over 21 years of age - this meant that for the first time in the UK it was established universal suffrage.

Until 1948 in Great Britain there was a rule about “ double vote”, in which, for example, persons who lived in one electoral district and owned real estate in another had the right to vote twice. The same rule applied to professors at Oxford and Cambridge: they voted at their respective universities and at their place of residence. To democratize voting rights Representation of the People Act 1948 completely eliminated the “double vote”.

The reduction of the age limit for participation in elections to 18 years old occurred after the adoption Representation of the People Act (1969).

Consolidated Representation of the People Act(1983) brought together all of the above changes in British electoral law that occurred in the 20th century.

Civil law of Great Britain: sources and development trends. Since the UK is a common law country, and codification has not been carried out there until now, it is replaced by consolidation, then the hierarchy of normative acts in the field of civil law is headed by consolidated statutes. Among the most famous are Property law (1925),Sale of goods law(Sale of Goods) (1980), Companies Law (1985).

Precedents(judicial practice) in English civil law currently regulate primarily the area of ​​contractual and tortious obligations.

(Orders of the Crown in Council, Ministerial Orders and Resolutions, etc.) also serve as a source of civil law in Great Britain.

Custom in UK civil law it is used in a new form - as trade custom. It is trade custom that regulates the details of written transactions.

The main trends in the development of English civil law in modern times are:

1) trend restrictions on the rights of individual owners in favor of the state And large companies. So, if the precedent of 1843 established that the owner owns everything above and below his land plot, then Civil Aviation Act 1949 decided that the airspace should be used for public purposes. A 1981 laws on compulsory acquisition of land And on land acquisition decided that in the UK there is a real possibility of compulsory purchase of land from individuals, corporations and municipalities if it is carried out in the national interest.

2) tendency to socialization of property. When, after the Second World War, the Labor government was faced with the fact that the share of state ownership in the country's total industrial output was no more than 20%, it nationalized a number of unprofitable enterprises. Nationalization was based on a social compromise in which large compensation was paid to business owners, allowing them to invest in better-equipped and more profitable sectors of the British economy.

3) tendency to implementation into the archaic doctrine of the English law of obligations modern generally accepted principles contractual obligations - free will of the parties, their equality, inviolability of fulfillment of obligations, etc.

UK criminal law: sources and development trends. As in civil law, modern English criminal law is dominated by statutes (laws) that regulate the industry. In the UK, attempts have been made several times to adopt the Criminal Code, but so far without success, so consolidated statutes replace the criminal code. Among the most famous statutes are Jury Law(1974), Criminal Law Act (1977), Criminal Attempt Law (1981), Criminal Justice Act(1982). Still in effect and Treason law(1351), therefore, although the death penalty has been abolished in Great Britain since 1970, theoretically it can be applied for high treason, as well as for piracy and arson of the royal docks.

Precedents The criminal law branch is also regulated, although at present a judge cannot create a precedent for a new crime or establish liability for it.

Delegated legislation in some cases it can also serve as a source of criminal law.

In recent times in Great Britain, the old classification of criminal acts into felonies And misdemeanors . Since 1967, the division of crimes into:

1) crimes prosecuted by indictment (tried with a jury by the Crown Court - category of serious crimes);

2) summary crimes - considered by magistrates without a jury (category of less serious or less dangerous crimes);

3) “hybrid” crimes, i.e. those that are difficult to unconditionally attribute to any of the two groups.

Even in the 20th century. not produced in the UK general definition of crime. Punishments generally take the form imprisonment(from 1 year to life imprisonment) or fines.

The general trend in the development of UK criminal law is humanization and optimization punishments.

Briefly, events in post-war Great Britain are summarized in Table. 15.

Table 15.

UK (1945-2001)

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Valerie Rene Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing(fr. Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Éstaing ; genus. 2 February, Koblenz, Hesse, Weimar Republic) - French statesman and politician, President of the French Republic (Fifth Republic) in 1974-1981.

Biography

Born in Germany, where at that moment his father Edmond Giscard d'Estaing (1894-1982) was on duty. He was brought up in a wealthy family with aristocratic roots. Edmond Giscard d'Estaing was a financial inspector and member of the Institute of France. His mother Mae Bardou (1901-2003) is a distant relative of King Louis XV.

Valery showed himself well during his studies and already at the age of 15 received a diploma of complete secondary education (French. baccalaureat). He then successfully passed the exams for one of the most prestigious scientific institutions in France, the École Polytechnique Supérieure. Later he continued his studies at the National School of Administration, after which his political career began.

Political activity

Center-right politician, leader of the Union for French Democracy party. After the death of Georges, Pompidou was elected president of the republic and served one full seven-year term. During the reign of Giscard d'Estaing, large-scale government projects were undertaken (in particular, the construction of high-speed railways TGV and the construction of nuclear power plants). Winner of the 1979 Nansen Prize. However, in the second half of his term, a major economic crisis began, stopping the stable growth of the French economy and ending the "glorious thirty years".

Giscard d'Estaing, who did not belong to the Gaullist parties, began to revise some aspects of Gaullism's foreign policy. Under him, France gradually began to return to NATO military structures, supporting the decision of the NATO Council to deploy American intermediate- and shorter-range missiles in Europe. At the same time, the strengthening of Soviet-French relations continued; under Giscard, France remained one of the most friendly Western countries towards the USSR, and the president himself had warm personal relations with Brezhnev. French Prime Minister Raymond Barr proclaimed a “policy of austerity,” which led to a reduction in programs for financing French influence abroad, including in the countries of Tropical Africa. At the end of Giscard d'Estaing's reign, critics accused him of an authoritarian approach, a refusal to compromise, and a desire to essentially turn the government into his “inner circle.” This alienated many on the right.

Family and personal life

Valerie Giscard d'Estaing's mistress was Sylvia Kristel (performer of the role of Emmanuelle), which they both did not hide.

Memoirs

Power and life (1988-1991) - memories of the ex-president of France about his time in power, the most interesting events and meetings in big politics of that period.

• Russian edition:
  • Book 1. - M.: International relations, 1990. - ISBN 5-7133-0166-4
  • Book 2. Confrontation. - M.: International Relations, 1993. - ISBN 5-7133-0657-7

Awards

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (Norway, )

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Excerpt characterizing Giscard d'Estaing, Valerie

Explanation one
As we grow, mature, and age, our lives are filled with many dear (and some completely unnecessary) memories. All this overloads our already slightly tired memory, leaving in it only “fragments” of events that happened a long time ago and the faces of some people we met a long time ago.
The present is little by little displacing the past, cluttering our already heavily “overworked” brain with important events of today, and our wonderful childhood, together with our youth so dear to us all, “clouded” by the flow of “important today”, gradually fade into the background...
And no matter how bright our lives are, and no matter how brilliant our memories are, none of us will be able to reconstruct with complete accuracy the events that took place forty (or more) years ago.
Sometimes, for reasons unknown to us, some person or fact leaves an indelible impression in our memory and is literally “imprinted” in it forever, and sometimes even something very important simply disappears in the “ever-flowing” stream of time, and only a casual conversation with some old acquaintance suddenly “snatches” from the recesses of our memory some extremely important event and indescribably surprises us with the fact that we could somehow forget it!..
Before I decided to write this book, I tried to reconstruct in my memory some important events that I considered interesting enough to tell about them, but, to my great regret, even with an excellent memory, I realized that I did not I will be able to fairly accurately restore many details and especially dialogues that took place so long ago.
Therefore, I decided to use the most reliable and well-tested method - time travel - to restore any events and their details with absolute accuracy, reliving exactly the day (or days) when the event I had chosen should have occurred. This was the only sure way for me to achieve the desired result, since in the usual “normal” way it is indeed absolutely impossible to reproduce long-past events with such accuracy.
I understood perfectly well that such detailed accuracy down to the smallest detail of the dialogues, characters and events that took place long ago that I reproduced could cause bewilderment, and maybe even some wariness of my respected readers (and give my “ill-wishers”, if such suddenly appear, the opportunity to name everything this is just a “fantasy”), so I considered it my duty to try to somehow explain everything that is happening here.
And even if I didn’t quite succeed in this, then simply invite those who want to lift the “veil of time” with me for a moment and live together my strange and at times even a little “crazy”, but very unusual and colorful life...

After so many years have passed, for all of us, childhood becomes more like a good and beautiful fairy tale heard long ago. I remember my mother’s warm hands, carefully covering me before bed, long sunny summer days, not yet clouded by sorrows, and much, much more - bright and cloudless, like our distant childhood itself... I was born in Lithuania, in the small and surprisingly green town of Alytus, far away from the turbulent life of famous people and “great powers”. Only about 35,000 people lived in it at that time, most often in their own houses and cottages, surrounded by gardens and flower beds. The entire town was surrounded by an ancient multi-kilometer forest, creating the impression of a huge green bowl in which the princely town quietly huddled peacefully, living its quiet life.

It was built in 1400 by the Lithuanian prince Alytis on the banks of the wide, beautiful Nemunas River. Or rather, a castle was built, and later a town was built around it. Around the town, as if creating a kind of protection, the river made a loop, and in the middle of this loop three small forest lakes shone like blue mirrors. From the ancient castle to the present day, unfortunately, only ruins have survived, turned into a huge hill, from the top of which an amazing view of the river opens. These ruins were the favorite and most mysterious place of our childhood games. For us, this was a place of spirits and ghosts who seemed to still live in these old dilapidated underground tunnels and were looking for their “victims” to drag them with them into their mysterious underground world... And only the bravest boys dared to go there deep enough to then scare everyone else with scary stories.

As far as I can remember, most of my earliest childhood memories were associated with the forest, which our whole family loved very much. We lived very close, literally a couple of houses away, and went there almost every day. My grandfather, whom I adored with all my childhood heart, was like a kind forest spirit to me. He seemed to know every tree, every flower, every bird, every path. He could talk for hours about this completely amazing and unfamiliar world to me, never repeating himself and never getting tired of answering my stupid childish questions. I would never change these morning walks for anything. They were my favorite fairy-tale world, which I did not share with anyone.

Unfortunately, it was only after too many years that I realized who my grandfather really was (I will return to this later). But then it was just the closest, warm and fragile little man with bright burning eyes, who taught me to hear nature, talk to trees and even understand the voices of birds. Then I was still a very small child and sincerely thought that this was completely normal. Or maybe I didn’t even think about it at all... I remember my first acquaintance with a “talking” tree. It was an old huge oak tree that was too bulky for my little childish hands.
– Do you see how big and kind he is? Listen to him... Listen... - I remember now the quiet, enveloping voice of my grandfather. And I heard...
Still vividly, as if it happened just yesterday, I remember that incomparable feeling of merging with something incredibly huge and deep. The feeling that suddenly strange visions of some other people’s distant lives began to float before my eyes, not childishly deep feelings of joy and sadness... The familiar and familiar world disappeared somewhere, and instead of it everything around was shining, spinning in an incomprehensible and amazing whirlpool sounds and sensations. There was no fear, there was only great surprise and a desire for this to never end...
The child is not an adult, he does not think that this is wrong or that this (according to all our “familiar” concepts) should not happen. Therefore, it did not seem strange to me at all that this was a different world, absolutely unlike anything else. It was wonderful and it was very beautiful. And this was shown to me by the man whom my childish heart trusted with all its immediate, pure and open simplicity.
I have always loved nature very much. I was “tightly” merged with any of its manifestations, regardless of place, time or someone’s desires. From the very first days of my conscious existence, our huge old garden was a favorite place for my daily games. To this day, I literally remember, down to the smallest detail, the feeling of that unique childish delight that I felt when running out into the yard on a sunny summer morning! I plunged headlong into that surprisingly familiar and at the same time so mysterious and changing world of smells, sounds and completely unique sensations.

A world that, to our common regret, is growing and changing according to how we grow and change. And later there is no time or energy left to just stop and listen to your soul.
We are constantly rushing in some kind of wild whirlpool of days and events, each chasing our own dreams and trying, at all costs, to “achieve something in this life”... And gradually we begin to forget (if we ever remembered at all. ..) how amazingly beautiful a blossoming flower is, how wonderful the forest smells after the rain, how incredibly deep the silence is sometimes... and how sometimes simple peace is missing for our soul, exhausted by the daily race.

Constitution of 1958. The main task of the government of Charles de Gaulle (June 1958 - January 1959), which included Gaullists, “independents”, representatives of the MRP, radicals and socialists, was the development of a new constitution. Its drafting was entrusted to a group of high-ranking officials - members of the Council of State, headed by the Minister of Justice Michel Debreu.

The State Council began its work in June 1958. The project it developed was discussed in parts by the Government Committee chaired by de Gaulle.

By the end of July, the text of the constitution was drawn up, approved by the Government Committee and submitted to the so-called Constitutional Advisory Committee. The committee included almost forty people. These were mainly deputies of the former National Assembly who voted for the election of de Gaulle. They represented all non-communist parties in the country.

The Constitutional Advisory Committee met for about two weeks. He made amendments and additions to the project. In the second half of August, the project was discussed in the government, was approved by it and made public on September 4. A general referendum was scheduled for September 28, 1958, in which the French people were to vote for or against the country's new fundamental law.

The main difference between the 1958 Constitution and the constitution of the Fourth Republic is the significant expansion of the prerogatives of the executive branch (president and government) at the expense of the legislative branch (parliament).

The President of the Republic became a key figure in French politics. According to the new constitution, he has the right to appoint the Prime Minister and, at his proposal, individual ministers, return bills adopted by parliament for a new discussion, and submit to a general referendum, at the proposal of the government or both houses, any bill relating to the organization of state power or the approval of international agreements that could affect the activities of state institutions. The President may dissolve (after consultation with the Prime Minister and the Presidents of the Chambers) the National Assembly and call new elections.

Article 16 of the Constitution gives the right to the President of the Republic in emergency circumstances to take full power in the country into his own hands. It reads: “When the institutions of the Republic, the independence of the nation, the integrity of its territory or the fulfillment of international obligations are seriously and immediately threatened, and the normal functioning of the constitutional organs of government is disrupted, the President of the Republic shall take such measures as are dictated by the circumstances. To do this, a simple consultation with the Prime Minister, the chairmen of both houses of parliament and the Constitutional Council is sufficient. Parliament meets in this case according to its own right and cannot be dissolved.”

The Prime Minister, appointed by the President of the country, and the government are responsible for their policies to the National Assembly.

According to the 1958 Constitution, a denial of "confidence" in the government can occur either if the Prime Minister himself raises a question in the National Assembly about the government's responsibility for his program, or if at least one tenth of the deputies introduces a so-called resolution of censure. In both cases, the government can only be denied “confidence” by an absolute majority of votes. If a resolution of censure does not gather the required majority, then its initiators are deprived of the right to introduce a new one during a given parliamentary session.

Legislative power in France, according to the new constitution, belongs to a bicameral parliament - the National Assembly and the Senate.

The National Assembly, elected for five years by universal suffrage, is assigned the competence to develop laws defining the exercise of civil rights, civil and criminal legislation, the judicial system, the tax system, election procedures, the status of civil servants and nationalization. In such important areas as defense, organization and revenue of local governments, education, labor law, and the status of trade unions, the National Assembly should determine only “general principles.” All other issues are resolved by the government and administration in the exercise of administrative power.

Any citizen of the French Republic who has reached the age of 23 can become a deputy of the National Assembly. The Senate, according to the new constitution, is elected by indirect (multi-degree) voting for a period of nine years and is renewed by a third of its composition every three years. He also has the right of legislative initiative. You can become a senator only after reaching 35 years of age.

A separate section of the 1958 Constitution regulated the status of French "overseas territories". They could either “maintain their status within the Republic” or “form separate states” if their territorial assemblies expressed their will no later than four months after the adoption of the constitution. In other words, the right of the French colonies to independence was declared.

In the new constitution, the main provisions of the Gaullist doctrine of the state, which were formed over many years and expressed both by de Gaulle himself and his supporters, found their logical conclusion. The 1958 Constitution became the basis of a new regime - the Fifth Republic. It replaced a parliamentary-type republic in France with a presidential-type republic.

During the summer of 1958, the country's political parties prepared for the upcoming referendum and determined their positions on the constitution. Naturally, the Gaullists called for an answer “yes” to the new basic law of France. The leaders of the National Center of Independents and Peasants and the Republican People's Movement also decided to urge their voters to give a positive response to the referendum. The Radical Party and the Socialist Party split.

At the emergency congress of the SFIO, a majority vote decided to give a positive answer. But the socialists, who voted against this position at the congress, refused to submit to the majority. At the congress of the Radical Party, a group of deputies led by Mendes-France also condemned the positive attitude towards the referendum of the majority of those present and announced their intention to give a negative answer.

The French communists unanimously decided to vote “against”, seeing in the new constitution de Gaulle’s desire to establish personal power in the country.

Supporters of the constitution turned out to be much stronger than its opponents. In the referendum on September 28, 1958, about 80% of those who voted answered “yes.”

The 1958 Constitution came into force and became the fundamental law of the country, by which France lives to this day.

Parliamentary and presidential elections of 1958 The main milestones in the formation of the regime of the Fifth Republic were the parliamentary and presidential elections and the appointment of the prime minister.

Elections to the National Assembly were scheduled for November 1958. The most important event that occurred shortly before them was the creation in October of a new Gaullist party, called the Union for a New Republic (UNR).

The leaders of the UNR, Debreu, Chaban-Delmas, Soustelle, presented their party as “the only one completely devoted to the ideas and personality of General de Gaulle.” However, the general himself refused to lead it, as he sought to present himself as an arbiter defending the interests of the nation as a whole. The sad experience of the RPF did not allow itself to be forgotten. At a press conference in October 1958, the head of government said that he objected to parties using his name “even as an adjective,” although he did not intend to prohibit “any political associations from speaking about their solidarity with the actions of Charles de Gaulle.” . Nevertheless, the general constantly kept in touch with his like-minded people who united in the UNR. Moreover, not a single important party decision was made without his consent. The ministers, members of the UNR, kept de Gaulle informed of party events and discussed the most important issues with him.

On the eve of the elections, the government adopted a new electoral law. The proportional electoral system practiced in 1946 and 1956 was replaced by a two-round majoritarian system.

The Gaullists achieved the greatest success in the elections to the National Assembly in November 1958. The UNR Party received 188 mandates, the National Center of Independents and Peasants - 133. The Socialist Party received 40 seats, the People's Republican Movement - 44, the Radicals - 13. The French Communist Party, due to the majoritarian election system, sent only 10 deputies to parliament.

The famous Gaullist, one of the founders of the UNR, Jacques Chaban-Delmas, was elected Chairman of the National Assembly.

On December 21, 1958, presidential elections were held. Voting, according to the new constitution, was indirect. The head of state was elected by 81,512 electors. Charles de Gaulle, communist Georges Marran and representative of non-communist left parties Albert Chatelet put forward their candidacies. De Gaulle achieved a large advantage over his opponents, received 78.5% of the vote and became the first president of the Fifth Republic.

Government of Michel Debreu. In January 1959, de Gaulle appointed his famous ally Michel Debreu to the post of prime minister. He included in the government (January 1959 - April 1962) many well-known figures of the Gaullist movement, as well as representatives of the “independents” and the MRP. The socialists decided to go into opposition to the new regime.

In the initial period of the existence of the Fifth Republic, a tradition developed according to which foreign policy became the prerogative of the president of the country, and domestic policy became the task of the head of government. Appointing Debra as prime minister, de Gaulle said: “I do not intend to go into details of government activities. I will limit myself to defining the main directions.”

For the Debreu cabinet, these areas were: new economic and financial policies, social policies and the so-called “school issue”.

The economic and financial “revival” of France was based on a system of measures based on state regulation of the economy. The government set the task of developing primarily those industries that most successfully contributed to improving the balance of payments.

Debreu's cabinet took measures aimed at improving France's financial situation. They led to the desired results. The country's trade deficit has decreased significantly. The balance of payments deficit for the French franc area has completely disappeared. For the first time in many years, the state budget deficit has decreased.

The government carried out the tax reform approved by the National Assembly. Its goal was to simplify the very complex and cumbersome French tax system, to combine, in particular, progressive and proportional taxes into a single income tax for each payer.

The Cabinet has repeatedly increased the Guaranteed Minimum Wage (SMW). Wages for civil servants and railway workers were also increased.

One of the problems of French domestic policy, as during the years of the Fourth Republic, was the “school issue”. The debate over subsidies to private schools has reignited in the National Assembly. At the very end of 1959, after much debate, a bill was passed that provided them with government subsidies.

Collapse of the French colonial empire. In the first years of the Fifth Republic, the collapse of the French colonial empire (French Union) was completed. In 1958, Guinea became an independent state. In 1960, another 14 former French colonies in Western and Equatorial Africa declared independence: Cameroon, Togo, Chad, Oubangui-Chari (now the Central African Republic), Congo, Gabon, Dahomey (now Benin), Niger, Ivory Coast (now Cote -d "Ivoire), Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Malagasy Republic (on the island of Madagascar), Sudan (modern Mali), Senegal and Mauritania.

At the same time, the “Algerian problem” remained the most serious problem for France. De Gaulle returned to power with the firm intention of granting Algeria independence, although he understood that many French sympathized with the ultra-colonialists. The President of the Republic faced serious opposition to his policies even from the Gaullist party of the UNR. However, he strictly followed his chosen path. In September 1959, de Gaulle first declared Algeria's right to self-determination. In response to this, at the beginning of 1960, the “ultra” in the Algerian capital staged a “week of barricades”, demanding that the government abandon the new policy.

At the end of 1960, de Gaulle announced that he envisioned the future Algeria only as “a state with its own government.” Around the same time, he wrote to his son: “I continue the work of liberating our country from the fetters that still envelop it. Algeria is one of them. Since we have left behind us the colonial era, and this is, of course, the case, we need to take a new path.”

In 1961, another rebellion broke out in the Algerian capital. It was unleashed by the military, who demanded to keep Algeria under French sovereignty. But de Gaulle was adamant. The rebellion was quickly suppressed. Although this was not the end of the “Algerian drama”. Soon, the Armed Secret Organization (OAS) began to operate underground in France, uniting supporters of “French Algeria.” They staged terrorist attacks throughout France and even made several attempts on the life of the President of the Republic. Only in March 1962 were the Evian agreements signed, according to which Algeria gained independence.

The first government of Georges Pompidou and the parliamentary elections of 1962. In April 1962, Michel Debreu was replaced as Prime Minister by a former employee of de Gaulle's personal office, General Director of the Rothschild Bank, Georges Pompidou (first cabinet - April - November 1962). In addition to the Gaullists, the new government included representatives of the “independents” and the MRP.

The political situation in the country was difficult. The left opposition of the de Gaulle regime, consisting of communists and socialists, was joined by radicals. They resigned from the government at the beginning of 1960 in protest against the approval of a law providing state subsidies to private schools. In addition, serious differences emerged between the parties in the ruling coalition. Representatives of the MRP and “independent” groups were dissatisfied with the gradual retreat of the President of the Republic from the policies of “Atlanticism” and “Europeanism.”

The party-political situation became even more tense in the fall of 1962, when de Gaulle announced his intention to amend the constitution, which approved the election of the president of the republic by universal suffrage. De Gaulle decided not to put this issue on the parliamentary agenda, but to submit it to a general referendum. This intention of the President of the Republic caused sharp discontent of both left and right parties. Ministers from the MRP and the “independents” resigned from the government, and in the National Assembly, for the first time in the history of the Fifth Republic, a resolution of censure gathered a majority of votes. The Pompidou cabinet resigned. In response, de Gaulle, using his right, dissolved the National Assembly.

In October 1962, a general referendum was held on which the question of amending the constitution was raised. Opponents of the election of the president by universal suffrage (socialists, radicals, “independents,” MRP) united in the so-called Cartel no. The communists also opposed the amendment. However, the referendum vote brought victory to the president and the Gaullist Union for a New Republic that supported him. More than 60% of voters answered “yes.”

In November 1962, extraordinary parliamentary elections took place. Success accompanied the supporters of the President of the Republic and the Gaullist party received 261 seats in the National Assembly, the “independents” - only 18, the MRP - 38. The Communists got 41 deputies into parliament, the Socialists - 67. The radicals received 44 mandates.

After the elections, the government was re-formed by Georges Pompidou. The PCF, socialists and radicals now formed the left opposition. MCI and “independent” - right. However, a small group of “independent republicans” broke away from the “Independents” Party. Its leader Valéry Giscard d'Estaing announced that he and his like-minded people will remain part of the ruling coalition and will join Pompidou's second cabinet.

The second government of Georges Pompidou and the presidential elections of 1965. The second Pompidou cabinet (December 1962 - January 1966) paid the greatest attention to socio-economic policy. In 1963, the government put forward a “stabilization plan.” It provided for a whole range of measures to strengthen the monetary and financial position of France and the structural restructuring of its economy in accordance with the requirements of the Common Market. A course was set for the industrialization of the country.

In 1963-1964. SMIG and nominal wages increased. All workers received four weeks of paid leave. An 80% compensation for treatment costs was also introduced.

In 1965, the next presidential elections took place. For the first time in France, the head of state was elected by universal suffrage. General de Gaulle decided to nominate his candidacy for a second term. He was unanimously supported by the Gaullist Union for a New Republic. The right-wing opposition parties - the People's Republican Movement and the "independents" - nominated Jean Lekanuet.

Shortly before the elections, the Socialist Party, the Radicals and the small left-wing party Convention of Republican Institutions announced that they were uniting to form the Federation of Democratic and Socialist Left Forces (FDSLS). The new political association announced François Mitterrand as its candidate. The Communists also agreed to support him in the presidential elections.

For the first time in French history, all candidates were given time on television to campaign. In the first round of elections held in December 1965, de Gaulle received 44% of the vote, Mitterrand - 32%, Lecanue - 16%. Since none of the candidates received more than half the votes, a second round was scheduled. There were two candidates who were ahead of the rest. As a result, about 55% of voters voted for de Gaulle. He was re-elected for another 7 years.

The third and fourth governments of Georges Pompidou. Parliamentary elections of 1967 After the presidential elections, Pompidou formed his third cabinet (January 1966 - April 1967). The government has again begun to solve important socio-economic problems. Following the "stabilization plan", it decided to provide large government subsidies to the country's largest financial and industrial corporations. In this way, the cabinet sought to reconstruct key sectors of the French economy. The Prime Minister himself believed that it was time to soften dirigisme in France. In one of his books, Pompidou wrote: “The state can and should guide the main directions of the national economy. But it shouldn’t control her.”

In March 1967, regular elections to the National Assembly were held. The Gaullist party again achieved the greatest success. She received 200 seats. The “independent republicans” included in the ruling bloc, who founded a small party, the National Federation of Independent Republicans, brought 42 deputies into the lower house of parliament. The socialists and radicals, united in the FDSLS, received 121 mandates, the communists - 73. The right-wing opposition parties (MRP and “independents”), which took part in the elections in a single bloc of Progress and Democracy, won 41 deputies.

After the third parliamentary elections of the Fifth Republic, it finally became clear that the French classical multi-party system was undergoing a restructuring and was moving into a bipolar system (the concentration of all the country’s political forces around the right and left poles).

In April 1967, Pompidou formed his fourth cabinet (April 1967 - May 1968).

Economic development. During de Gaulle's presidency, the French economy developed rapidly. The scientific and technological revolution continued in the country. Science became a direct productive force, largely determining the development of industry, transport, and agriculture. France entered the era of industrial society. From 1958 to 1968, French industrial output increased by 66%. In 1959-1963. the growth rate of industrial projection was 7-8% per year in 1964-1968. - 3-4%. The volume of foreign trade was almost four times higher than the pre-war level. By 1965, France had eliminated its debt to the United States and once again became a creditor country. It has reached third place in the world in capital exports.

The traditional sectors of the French economy - coal, leather and woodworking - developed rather slowly. They were significantly ahead of the most important components of the country's industry: metalworking, chemical, oil, aviation, radio electronics. The automobile and aircraft industries are developing at a rapid pace.

During the years of the Fifth Republic, the nuclear industry and rocket science appeared. The President of the Republic believed that France should have its own atomic weapons. Therefore, intensive work began in the country to create a “nuclear strike force.” In February 1960, the first atomic bomb test took place in the French Sahara. The following year, the National Center for Nuclear Research was created under the Debre government. At the same time, in 1961, the first experimental underground explosion was carried out in the area of ​​the Mururoa Atoll, which was part of the French possessions in the Pacific Ocean. So France joined the “club of nuclear powers” ​​along with the USA, USSR and Great Britain (later China joined them).

During de Gaulle's presidency, agriculture developed intensively. Agricultural production increased by 66%. France has become the second largest food exporter after the United States.

During the Fifth Republic the concentration of production increased. 25 giant industrial and financial groups controlled more than 60% of all capital investments. Foreign capital played a significant role in the French economy. It accounted for 10% of capital investments in industry and trade. Among investors, the first place was occupied by the United States and Germany. At the same time, the public sector played a significant role in the French economy.

One of the features of the socio-economic life of France was labor immigration. It began in the interwar period, when the country's demographic situation worsened due to huge losses in the First World War, and continued during the Fourth Republic. The rapid industrial expansion of the 60s led to the government encouraging the entry into the country of a new large number of workers from abroad. At first, Europeans, Italians, Spaniards, and Portuguese came to France; later they were joined by people from North Africa, mainly Algerians. In the early 70s, there were about 4 million foreigners in the country, making up more than 7% of the total population of France.

Foreign policy. The President of the Republic, General de Gaulle, devoted himself almost entirely to foreign policy problems. The course he took was aimed at reviving the “greatness of France” and was fundamentally different from the policy of the cabinets of the Fourth Republic.

First of all, de Gaulle tried to ensure France a worthy place in NATO. He wanted his country to play the role of a power with “global responsibility” within the bloc. De Gaulle defended this idea to US President Dwight Eisenhower, but was unable to gain support for it. The problem of reorganizing the Atlantic Alliance was the focus of negotiations with the next American President John Kennedy during his visit to Paris in 1961. De Gaulle insistently demanded that the leading position in NATO be occupied by the “troika” - the USA, England and France. But Kennedy also rejected this offer.

As a result, de Gaulle, realizing that he would not come to an agreement with the United States, began a course of gradual withdrawal from NATO. In this regard, the French President attached great importance to the production of his own atomic weapons. He believed that possessing nuclear capabilities elevated France and placed it in the rank of a great power. In 1966, after de Gaulle was finally convinced of the impossibility of reorganizing the Atlantic bloc, he announced his country's withdrawal from NATO. American military bases located on French territory were liquidated. NATO headquarters moved from Paris to Brussels.

Relations between France and Great Britain initially developed in the most favorable way. England became the first country that de Gaulle visited on an official visit in 1960. He was received by Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, and was enthusiastically received in Parliament, where he made a welcoming speech. However, when Great Britain announced its intention to enter the Common Market, de Gaulle categorically opposed it. The French president twice, in 1963 and 1967, vetoed England's entry into the EEC. In this way, de Gaulle sought to avoid competition from Great Britain for French goods, mainly agricultural products. At the same time, according to the French President, the inclusion of England in the Common Market would mean the introduction of a strong contender for leadership in Western Europe, moreover, closely associated with the United States.

De Gaulle attached great importance to ties between France and West Germany. He met several times with German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. In 1962, the French president visited Germany on an official visit. Less than a year later, in 1963, in Paris, de Gaulle and Adenauer signed a Franco-West German cooperation agreement. It provided for constant meetings and consultations between the heads of France and Germany. According to the agreement, the governments of both countries agreed to consult before making important decisions.

De Gaulle was one of the first European politicians to advocate the creation of a “united Europe”. In one of his entries from the early 60s you can read: “I am constantly convinced of how much the peoples inhabiting Europe have in common. All of them are white race, Christian religion. They have the same way of life, from time immemorial they are all connected with each other by close ties in the spheres of thinking, art, science, politics, and trade. And it is completely natural if they form their own special organization in the world.”

De Gaulle believed that European countries are the main link of the planet, the center that bears full responsibility in relation to the rest of the continents. He believed that it was Europe that stimulated and even directed the spiritual and technical development of the world. Already in 1961-1962. The French President and his supporters put forward the idea of ​​​​concluding a “Common Market” treaty between the countries, providing for the permanent cooperation of their governments in order to develop joint policies in the field of international relations, defense, economics and culture. The general sought to create an organization that could, to a certain extent, resist the United States. But de Gaulle's “united Europe” is not a supranational association, but a “Europe of fatherlands”, in which each individual country retains its national identity.

De Gaulle imagined the European continent not only as Western Europe, but also as “Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals,” which certainly included the Soviet Union. De Gaulle always attached great importance to cooperation with the USSR. In March 1960, the head of the Soviet state N.S. Khrushchev was invited to France. Negotiations in Paris did not lead to any significant results. Nevertheless, the parties still managed to find a common understanding on something, for example, to conclude an agreement on the need to resolve unresolved international issues not through the use of force, but through peaceful means.

In 1966, de Gaulle arrived in the USSR on a return visit. His negotiations with Soviet leaders testified to the desire of the French President to initiate the process of détente. In his speech in the Kremlin, de Gaulle said: “As for our common political goals, they are detente, harmony, progress and world peace.” The negotiations ended with the signing of a Soviet-French cooperation agreement. De Gaulle's visit lasted 10 days. During his stay in the USSR, the general sought to get acquainted with various spheres of public life of the Soviet Union; he visited Leningrad, Kyiv, Volgograd, Novosibirsk, and the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

De Gaulle attached great importance to France's relations with the states of the Third World. In 1964, he made a long trip to the countries of Latin America and was warmly received everywhere. That same year, the general advocated recognition of the People's Republic of China.

De Gaulle's individuality left its mark on the entire foreign policy of France. The President often made extraordinary decisions that ran counter to the position of Western powers. He was one of the first to strongly oppose the US war in Vietnam. In 1967, during the Six Day War, de Gaulle condemned Israel for launching hostilities and then holding on to the captured territories by force. The general imposed an embargo on the supply of French equipment to all countries involved in the conflict. But it mainly hit Israel.

The visit of the French President to Canada in July 1967 was significant. De Gaulle ended his speech delivered in Montreal with the words: “Long live free Quebec!” In doing so, he supported the right of French-Canadians to decide their own destiny and, if they wished, to secede. Such a speech was perceived in the ruling circles of Canada simply as a provocation. The French President had to end his visit and return to Paris.

De Gaulle's special position on certain international issues sometimes aroused the enmity of the leaders of other states, in particular the United States. However, in critical situations, the French President always took the position of the Western powers and the NATO bloc. This was the case, for example, during the Berlin and Caribbean crises.

Events of May-June 1968. The fifth government of Georges Pompidou. In mid-1968, France experienced a deep socio-political crisis. First of all, it expressed itself in mass protests by students.

At the end of the 60s, students made up a significant part of society in France. There were about 700 thousand of them. Gradually, the French system of higher education, which had long been established and remained unchanged for decades, ceased to satisfy some students. About half of them were forced to combine study with work. The complex examination system meant that 70-80% of students admitted to the first year were unable to complete their education. But even those who received a diploma had no guarantees of employment and could not count on a secure future. The internal regulations of French universities, concerning both the educational process and living conditions in dormitories, were strict and required obedience to established rules.

Beginning in 1966, students increasingly openly expressed their dissatisfaction with the existing education system. They demanded that they be given the right to participate in decisions regarding their living conditions, as well as the content, forms and methods of education. The popularity of leftist groups among students grew. Their leaders disrupted classes, offered to “deny” and “dispute” everything, came out with the slogan “It is forbidden to prohibit!” and even called for the overthrow of the government.

In early May 1968, in response to the threat of expulsion of several “leftists,” students in Paris went on strike and occupied the Sorbonne. University authorities called the police, who began making arrests. In response to this, mass student demonstrations have now unfolded not only in the capital, but also in other cities. Fights with the police began. In the Latin Quarter of Paris, students dismantled pavements, felled trees, built barricades, and set cars on fire.

On May 13, a powerful demonstration took place in the capital as a sign of solidarity with students. Those gathered took to the streets with the slogans “Ten years is enough!”, “De Gaulle, goodbye!” Simultaneously with the demonstration, a protest strike took place, which quickly grew into a general strike of enormous scope. Most businesses and banks stopped working. Transport stopped. Workers and employees demanded higher wages, improved social security, and measures against unemployment. Soon the peasants joined them. Within a few days, the total number of strikers reached 10 million people. Such events clearly indicated the presence of serious contradictions in French society and the government's insufficient attention to social problems.

Prime Minister Georges Pompidou immediately decided to make concessions. At the government residence on Rue Grenelle, he began negotiations with trade unions and entrepreneurs in mid-May. However, the situation remained tense. Left forces demanded the immediate resignation of the government. And Francois Mitterrand even said that “the power is vacant.” Nevertheless, Pompidou continued negotiations. They ended with the signing on May 28 of the so-called Grenelle agreements. The government announced an increase in SMIG in industry by 35%, in agriculture by 56%, increased unemployment benefits by 15%, family benefits by 5% and wages by an average of 13%, and also increased pensions. A reduction in the working week to 40 hours without a reduction in wages was confirmed and commitments were made to improve vocational education.

On May 30, the President of the Republic made a speech on radio and television, in which he asserted that the threat of a communist dictatorship loomed over France, announced the dissolution of the National Assembly and scheduled new parliamentary elections for the end of June. On the same day, a huge demonstration took place in Paris in solidarity with de Gaulle. In the front ranks of the demonstrators were members of the government with the slogans “De Gaulle is not alone!”

On May 31, Georges Pompidou formed his fifth cabinet (June-July 1968) and began preparations for the election campaign.

Parliamentary elections of 1968. Government of Maurice Couve de Murville. De Gaulle's resignation in 1969. The early elections to the National Assembly, held in June 1968, brought enormous success to the supporters of the President of the Republic. The Gaullist party, renamed the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR) and acting as the “party of order,” together with its allies in the ruling coalition, the “independent republicans,” received 354 seats in the lower house of parliament. The unions of the Progress and Democracy bloc, which now presented themselves as centrist, brought 33 deputies into the National Assembly. Left parties that took an active anti-government position during the May events suffered significant damage. The socialists and radicals, united around Mitterrand and Mendes-France, received only 57 mandates, the communists - 34.

After the elections, de Gaulle decided to change the prime minister. He appointed former Foreign Minister Maurice Couves de Murville (July 1968 - June 1969) to the post of head of government. The first thing the new cabinet did was to pass a law on higher education reform. It expanded the autonomy of higher education institutions and established elections for university leadership, which included student representatives. He was entrusted with the functions of distributing budget allocations and determining training programs. At the same time, the government began to solve the country's economic problems caused by significant expenditures on increasing wages for workers and the “flight of capital” that occurred during the mass protests in May.

Taking into account the sad lesson of the May events, the President of the Republic decided to turn to domestic politics. He planned to carry out socio-economic reforms in France in the spirit of “class cooperation”. The first step in the implementation of his plan was the bill on the new zoning of France and the renewal of the Senate, according to which the system of local government and the functions of the Senate were to change in the country. De Gaulle announced that he was submitting the bill to a general referendum and would resign if it was rejected. The project was clearly a failure. It combined two poorly compatible reforms. Many ministers told the President of the Republic that the French would not understand him and it would be wiser to abandon such an idea. However, de Gaulle was determined to carry out his plans and insisted on his own. The referendum was scheduled for April 1969. But already in March it became clear that the president would not receive a majority. The general waited with sadness for the verdict. He told his son at the beginning of the year: “The French are tired of me, and I’m tired of them.” In a referendum on April 27, 52% of voters rejected the project. Thus ended 10 years of de Gaulle's reign. He resigned as president of the republic and moved away from politics. De Gaulle died on November 9, 1970 at his estate Colombey-les-deux-Eglises and went down in history as the most outstanding military, political and statesman of France of the 20th century.

Presidential elections of 1969. After de Gaulle's resignation, an interim president of the republic was appointed. According to the constitution, he became the chairman of the Senate, the “independent” Alain Poer. He immediately announced his candidacy for the upcoming presidential elections.

All political parties in France also began active preparations for the elections. The Gaullist party of the South Democratic Republic unanimously supported the country's former Prime Minister Georges Pompidou. The country's left parties were unable to act together this time. The Socialist Party decided to nominate Gaston Deffert. The small United Socialist Party, formed in 1960, announced Michel Rocard as its candidate. The French Communist Party also proposed its own candidate for the presidency. It was Jacques Duclos.

Georges Pompidou, with the active support of the Gaullist party, launched a wide election campaign. His program was not strikingly different from Poer's. The Gaullist candidate promised to continue to pay great attention not only to the problems of France, but also to the needs of the French themselves. Pompidou acted energetically, traveled a lot around the country, spoke on radio and television. Opinion polls showed him far ahead of his opponents.

The results of the first round, held on June 1, 1969, were greeted with jubilation in Gaullist circles. Pompidou managed to collect almost 44.5% of the votes. Poer came in second place with 23.3%. Next came Duclos, who received more than 21%. Deffer scored just over 5%, and Rocard - 3.5%. The second round, which took place on June 15, did not bring any surprises. The Gaullist candidate defeated his rival Poer with more than 58% of the vote.

So, Gaullist Georges Pompidou became the second president of the Fifth Republic. He defined the future political course of France with the words “continuity and dialogue.” Continuity meant the continuation of the main directions in economics and politics that had developed under de Gaulle, and dialogue meant their partial change under pressure from partners in the ruling coalition. The main partner of the UDR was the second right-wing party of the country - the National Federation of Independent Republicans, headed by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. To the post of head of government, Pompidou appointed one of the most famous supporters of General de Gaulle, the chairman of the National Assembly, the reformist Jacques Chaban-Delmas (June 1969 . - July 1972).

Government of Jacques Chaban-Delmas. In September 1969, the Prime Minister presented his government program, which was called the “new society”, to the National Assembly. Its essence was to establish in France “contractual relations” between employees and enterprise management, which were based on the so-called “social coordination”. This implied, in order to avoid acute labor conflicts, the creation of a permanently functioning institution of “mutual consultations” between representatives of workers and entrepreneurs. It was the principle of such consultation that distinguished “social harmony” from the usual system of collective labor agreements. In addition, it provided for the inclusion in the discussion not only of questions about wages and working conditions, but also new elements - information from personnel about the progress of affairs at the enterprise, measures that “interested” workers in increasing profits and labor productivity.

They decided to test the reformist experiment of Chaban-Delmas in the nationalized sector, where at some enterprises (in particular, at the Renault plant), in line with the “new society” program, so-called progress contracts were signed between the administration and trade unions. The government hoped, if successful, to make it a model for the transformation of labor relations in the country as a whole. However, the Prime Minister’s idea did not receive widespread support, so it had to be abandoned.

In the economic field, the Chaban-Delmas cabinet went for some softening of dirigisme and sought to give the French economy “an international and European scale.” The government provided additional benefits and subsidies to the country's largest monopolies and encouraged export industries.

The main action of the cabinet in the social sphere was the adoption in 1970 of a law replacing the interprofessional guaranteed minimum wage (SMIG) with the minimum interprofessional increasing wage (SMIC). If previously the SMIG was set once every six months to a year in agreement with trade unions, and its increase often lagged behind price increases, now the SMIG automatically rose with the rise in prices and national income. The retirement age in France has been lowered from 65 to 63 years. The government increased family benefits for low-paid categories of citizens by eliminating them for wealthier segments of the population.

The Chaban-Delmas cabinet began implementing administrative reforms with the goal of decentralization, that is, expanding the powers of local government officials and local governments. The government has undertaken some liberalization of state control over the media, for example by granting autonomy to the National Radio and Television Authority. Directors of television programs began to be appointed directly by the administrative board of management, which expanded access to radio and television for opposition journalists.

The innovations of the Chaban-Delmas cabinet aroused dissatisfaction and criticism from many more conservative Gaullists. The President of the Republic himself did not approve of some of the Prime Minister’s ideas. As a result, Georges Pompidou decided to replace the head of government. He appointed the authoritarian Gaullist Pierre Mesmer to the post of prime minister.

The first government of Pierre Mesmer and the parliamentary elections of 1973 Mesmer, having formed his first cabinet (July 1972 - March 1973), announced that the main goal of the government would be preparation for the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for March next year. This task of the cabinet had serious reasons. The ruling coalition feared the left opposition would win the elections. Such a turn of events was quite likely, since in the early 70s there was a regrouping of leftist forces in France.

In 1969, on the basis of the oldest party in the country - SFIO - a new Socialist Party was formed. Soon it was joined by a small left-wing association, the Convention of Republican Institutes, headed by François Mitterrand. At the Socialist Party Congress in 1971, Mitterrand was elected its General Secretary. Immediately after this, the socialists declared a course towards rapprochement with the French Communist Party and the development of a joint program. The General Secretary of the PCF, Georges Marchais, responded to this proposal. In June 1972, the Socialist and Communist parties signed a joint declaration (program of the left). After some time, leftist radicals joined them.

The program consisted of four sections. The first, social, section dealt with raising the living standards of workers and improving their working and rest conditions. The second - economic - talked about the nationalization of all private banks and financial institutions, as well as the country's largest monopolies. The third section of the program provided for the democratization of state institutions. The fourth section was devoted to French foreign policy. His main ideas were pursuing a policy of peaceful coexistence and cooperation with all countries, renunciation of the use of force and peaceful settlement of international disputes, and general disarmament.

In the parliamentary elections held in March 1973, the left forces failed to win. However, they achieved significant success, collecting 45% of the vote. The PCF received 73 seats in the National Assembly, the socialists together with the radical left - 103. The centrists, united in the Progress and Democracy bloc, received 30 seats. The parties of the ruling coalition have achieved an advantage over their opponents. The Gaullist YDR brought 183 deputies into the lower house of parliament, and “independent republicans” - 55.

The second and third governments of Pierre Mesmer. After the parliamentary elections, Mesmer headed the cabinet of ministers two more times (April 1973 - February 1974 and March - May 1974). His governments were committed to accelerating the industrialization of France, increasing the level of concentration of production and the competitiveness of French industry, as well as strengthening its position in international markets. Government intervention in economic development continued to weaken.

The Prime Minister paid great attention to the development of housing construction. According to the new law adopted by the Chaban-Delmas cabinet, the revision of the minimum wage increased the SMIC. The government has also taken a number of measures to equalize wages for men and women, urban and rural residents.

Foreign policy. France's foreign policy during Pompidou's presidency was based on the principles laid down by de Gaulle. In 1970, Pompidou announced that France would not return to the NATO military organization. However, the president sought to smooth out the “sharp corners” in relations with the United States. Franco-American cooperation has resumed in many areas. In 1971, Pompidou met in the Azores (Atlantic Ocean) with US President Richard Nixon and discussed with him the problems of bilateral relations.

France played an active role in the Council of the Common Market and took part in the construction of a “united Europe”. Pompidou, like de Gaulle, was against the expansion of the supranational bodies of the EEC and defended French interests. Nevertheless, he did not prevent Great Britain from joining the Common Market. In 1973, England, Ireland and Denmark were admitted to the Common Market. So “Europe of six” became “Europe of nine”. The main bodies of the EEC were the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament, and it itself increasingly began to be called the European Community (EC).

During the Pompidou years, France continued to expand cooperation with West Germany. The main directions of relations between the two countries were discussed more than once by the President of France and the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Willy Brandt.

Pompidou paid the greatest attention to the development of Franco-Soviet relations. He met five times with the head of the Soviet state L.I. Brezhnev. In October 1970, Pompidou made his first visit to the Soviet Union. During it, the Soviet-French protocol and the Soviet-French declaration were signed, which, in the opinion of both sides, consolidated the tradition of friendly relations between the USSR and France. The result of L. I. Brezhnev’s return visit to Paris in October 1971 was the signing of the document “Principles of Cooperation between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and France.” On the basis of the “Principles...”, during two subsequent Soviet-French summit meetings in Zaslavl near Minsk in January 1973 and in Paris in June 1973, agreements were reached that contributed to the early convening of the Pan-European Conference on Security in Europe. The last meeting between Pompidou and Brezhnev took place in Pitsunda, on the Abkhazian coast of the Black Sea in March 1974. The main result of the Franco-Soviet meetings and negotiations was the development of bilateral economic cooperation.

Pompidou attached great importance to relations with Third World countries. He established relations between France and African states. After de Gaulle established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, Pompidou visited it in 1973 on an official visit.

Presidential elections of 1974 On April 2, 1974, the President of the Republic, Georges Pompidou, died suddenly. Early presidential elections have been announced in France. The official candidate of the Gaullist YuDR party was the former Prime Minister of the country, Jacques Chaban-Delmas. All the older Gaullists supported him. From the “independent republicans”, their leader, Minister of Economy and Finance Valery Giscard d'Estaing, ran for the presidency. Francois Mitterrand became the sole candidate of the left forces, as in 1965.

During the election campaign, a completely unexpected situation arose. One of the members of the UDR, the young and energetic Minister of the Interior Jacques Chirac, became the organizer of a split in Gaullist circles. Under his leadership, 39 deputies and 4 ministers representing the South Democratic Republic openly came out in support of Giscard d'Estaing. They jointly signed the “call of the 43” directed against Chaban-Delmas. As a result of such circumstances, the results of the first round held on May 5, 1974 The early presidential elections turned out to be a complete defeat for the Gaullist candidate. Chaban-Delmas collected only 15% of the votes, leaving Mitterrand (43%) and Giscard d'Estaing (32%) ahead. The latter received 50.8% of the votes in the second round on May 19 and was elected the third president of the Fifth Republic.

Giscard d'Estaing defined his main task with the slogan “Change without risk.” He believed that France should strive to create an “advanced liberal society.” At the same time, the state is obliged to create conditions for the normal functioning of a market economy, as well as fulfill its social functions.

Since the Gaullist party of the South Democratic Republic had 183 mandates in the National Assembly, and the “independent republicans” had only 55, Giscard d’Estaing appointed the Gaullist Jacques Chirac to the post of Prime Minister. His cabinet included both representatives of the South Democratic Republic and “independent republicans”. Thus Thus, the composition of the ruling coalition remained unchanged, although now the majority of ministerial portfolios were given to representatives of the party of the president of the republic.

Government of Jacques Chirac. Chirac's cabinet (May 1974 - August 1976), following the policy proclaimed by the president of the republic, adopted a number of important social laws.

The government increased SMIC and wages, as well as unemployment benefits, pensions and family benefits. The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 years. A special law established compulsory secondary school education from 6 to 16 years of age and expanded pre-school education. Chirac's cabinet allocated additional funds for the construction of schools and kindergartens.

The government has carried out major changes in the field of legislation on the family and the status of women. In France, the divorce procedure was simplified, the rights of married and illegitimate children were equalized, and the previously prohibited artificial termination of pregnancy and the use of contraceptives were allowed.

Personal relations between the President of the Republic Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Prime Minister Jacques Chirac were not easy. The Prime Minister did not agree with some of the president's, in his opinion, overly liberal ideas. He also did not approve of Giscard d'Estaing's course aimed at softening relations with the left forces. Chirac was also dissatisfied with the fact that, at the insistence of the president, key posts in his cabinet (for example, the ministers of economy and finance and internal affairs) were occupied by “independent republicans.” They acted, as a rule, “over the head of the prime minister,” turning directly to the head of state. The president himself did not consider it necessary to consult with the prime minister on many important issues, but only informed him of one or another of his decisions. As a result, Chirac voluntarily left his post. In August 1976, he stated: “I did not have the means which I considered necessary to effectively carry out my functions and therefore decided to put an end to them.”

The President of the Republic accepted Chirac's resignation and appointed Raymond Barr to the post of Prime Minister. The new head of government, formally “non-partisan,” was close in his political beliefs to “independent republicans.” He was often called the “number one economist” in the country. That is why the president's choice fell on Barr's candidacy. In the mid-70s, France, like other European countries, faced a serious economic crisis.

Economic crisis. The first and second governments of Raymond Barr. The cause of the crisis was the “oil shock” - a sharp increase in oil prices by its main exporters. From 1973 to 1981, the cost of oil exceeded 12 times the level of 1972. This situation had the most detrimental effect on the French economy, which imported more than 80% of the oil it consumed. As a result, the rate of economic development of the country has decreased significantly. Already in 1975, for the first time in the entire post-war period in France, the volume of industrial production decreased by 8%, and agricultural production by 6%. The economy has entered a period of stagnation. At the same time, there was a constant rise in prices and, as a consequence, high inflation. The slowdown in industrial development led to an increase in unemployment, which became a real problem for France in the late 1980s. If in the 60s there were approximately 200 thousand unemployed in the country, then in 1980 there were already almost 2 million.

The governments of Raymond Barr (August 1976 - March 1977 and March 1977 - March 1978) saw their main task in combating the economic crisis and curbing inflation. The Prime Minister put forward a plan to “support” the economy. It was called the policy of “austerity” and “belt tightening.” The cabinet set a course for supporting large industrial companies, modernizing and restructuring the country's economy, curtailing “unprofitable” industries (for example, metallurgy and textiles), eliminating unprofitable enterprises and, as a result, jobs. At the same time, the government followed the path of freezing prices and establishing restrictions on wage growth. However, even such measures did not lead to an increase in production and a decrease in inflation, and unemployment only increased.

Parliamentary elections of 1978. Third government of Raymond Barr. The country's leading political forces approached the elections to the National Assembly in discord.

The Socialist Party refused to develop a common election platform with the Communists and decided to act independently. The French Communist Party was approaching the elections having undergone significant changes. In 1976, she decisively got rid of the ideological tutelage of Moscow, abandoned the concept of “dictatorship of the proletariat” and replaced it with the formulation “the power of the working class and other categories of workers.” The communist parties of Italy and Spain took the same positions. These important changes in the ideology and policies of the three large and influential communist parties in Western Europe were called "Eurocommunism".

Big changes have also occurred in the right-wing parties. Former French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac decided to transform the Gaullist movement. In 1976, he proclaimed the creation of a new Gaullist party, the Rally for the Republic (RPR), based on the Union of Democrats for the Republic. Chirac became chairman of the RPR. The party considered its main task to be winning the elections and gaining strong positions within the ruling coalition.

The president's party, the National Federation of Independent Republicans, changed its name to the Republican Party in 1977. The following year, on the eve of the elections, it united with several centrist groups to form the Union for French Democracy (UDF). Thus, Giscard d'Estaing and his supporters hoped to increase their representation in the National Assembly and have a faction in it at least equivalent to the Gaullist one. However, they failed to achieve their goal.

In the parliamentary elections held in March 1978, right-wing forces won. The Gaullist party RPR received 154 mandates, the Union for French Democracy - 123. The Socialist Party with its associated small groups brought 115 deputies to the lower house of parliament. The communists won 86 seats.

After the elections, Raymond Barr formed his third cabinet (April 1978 - May 1981). The government's objectives remained the same. His tactics have not changed either. The Prime Minister continued to pursue the course of “austerity” and “belt tightening”. However, it turned out to be ineffective. There was virtually no economic growth. Inflation rates have increased. Real incomes of the population did not rise. There were more and more unemployed people in the country. Raymond Barr himself broke all records for unpopularity.

Foreign policy. During the presidency of Giscard d'Estaing, the main directions of French foreign policy remained the same as under de Gaulle and Pompidou. However, its principles underwent some changes. First of all, this concerned relations with the United States. Giscard d'Estaing set a course for rapprochement with the United States in political and economic fields. Military cooperation was also renewed. France still refused to return to the military organization of the North Atlantic bloc. Nevertheless, French troops began to take part in NATO maneuvers.

Since 1975, meetings of the G7 (USA, Canada, Japan, UK, France, Germany, Italy) began to be held annually. France, naturally, became a regular participant in these “summits”, at which its president discussed all the most important problems of world politics with his main partners.

In the summer of 1975, Giscard d'Estaing, on behalf of France, signed the Final Act of a meeting of 35 states in Helsinki. The meeting participants promised to be guided in their policies by the principles of non-use of force, inviolability of borders, peaceful settlement of disputes, non-interference in internal affairs, and respect for human rights.

France continued to participate in the process of European integration, which developed along the path of expanding the powers of the supranational bodies of the European Community. The French president, along with other EU heads of state, began to join the European Council. The European Parliament has members from France elected since 1979 by universal suffrage.

Germany remained France's main partner in Western Europe. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing constantly met with Chancellor Helmut Schmidt.

France attached great importance to ties with its former African colonies. The country's president has visited young African states more than once and received their leaders in Paris.

One of the most important directions of French foreign policy remained the development of relations with the USSR. Giscard d'Estaing met repeatedly with the head of the Soviet Union L.I. Brezhnev: in December 1974 and July 1977 in Paris, in October 1975 and April 1979 in Moscow and in May 1980 in Warsaw (not counting the meeting in August 1975 in Helsinki). The parties signed a declaration on the development of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, as well as several communiqués. France and the USSR deepened their relations in the field of industry, energy, tourism, culture. However, in 1979 France sharply condemned the Soviet leadership for sending troops into Afghanistan.

Valéry-Giscard D'Estaing was born on February 2, 1926 in Germany, participated in the last battles of the French army in World War II, and after the war he graduated from the Polytechnic and National School of Administration and in 1953 received the position of adviser to the prime minister.

During his presidency, he heads the economic sector of the government and manages to create his own party. The National Federation of Independent Republicans, which declared itself neoliberal and pro-European.

After resigning, he announced the party's opposition to the rule of Charles De Gaulle, and about discrepancies in issues of European politics and De Gaulle's alternative to the "Europe of Fatherlands".

After Georges Pompidou came to power, he again held the post of Minister of Finance and participated in the activities of such an international organization as the Council of the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development (OSED).

As De Sige wrote, this wise, balanced man with extensive diplomatic experience prepared materials on foreign policy under President Pompidou. He headed a working group formed from parliamentarians who were members of various associations of the majority and opposition A.V. Tikhomirov. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing “France must abandon thoughts of its exclusivity...” - interview with De Sigy, Chinese writer. - March 14, 2006. - p. 56. This kind-hearted and honest-minded person defended his conviction in that situations are always and everywhere possible in which the national interests of France would justify the use of our Armed Forces Tikhomirov A.V. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing “France must abandon thoughts of its exclusivity...”. - interview with De Xizhi, Chinese writer. - March 14, 2006. - p. 56.

But my interlocutor gave a completely different assessment: any situation in the world, regardless of where it occurred, under some circumstances could raise the question of a threat to the national interests of our country.

Although I persisted, I was unable to change his position. He did not agree to determine the circumstances and regions under which and in which a threat to the national interests of France could not arise." Tikhomirov A.V. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing "France must abandon thoughts of its exclusivity...". - interview with De Xizhi, Chinese writer. - March 14, 2006. - p. 56.

Elected head of state in 1974, he carried out a number of social reforms, which emphasized his democratic leadership style. Naturally, he paid attention to European integration, believing that France could develop exclusively within the framework of a United Europe.

Is France, politically speaking, the center of the world? Most French people believe this. Giscard D'Estaing also believes in this. Many of our political leaders indulge this illusion. Such actions lead the French to false, far from objective, ideas about their relations with the rest of the world, which gives rise, on the one hand, to arrogance, for which we are often reproached , and on the other hand, disappointment when it turns out that reality does not at all correspond to our expectations. Tikhomirov A.V. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing “France must give up thoughts of its exclusivity...”. - interview with De Xizhi, Chinese writer. - March 14, 2006. - p. 53.

His rule was controversial, which decided the subsequent presidential elections not in his favor. The only thing he really regretted was that he could not complete European construction.

Having won the election of deputies to the People's Assembly, he devoted himself to the Foreign Affairs Commission. And later, in 89-93, he was a member of the European Parliament, and headed the liberal, democratic and republican groups. From 1989 to 1997 Giscard d'Estaing was the head of the International European Movement, and from 1997 to 2004 - President of the Council of Communes and Regions of Europe. He also founded the Institute for Democracy in Europe.

His dream of eventually leading the European Parliament almost came true after his election as head of the Convention designed to decide the future of Europe. His ideas were mostly developed in the draft Constitution developed by this Convention. Following the dissolution of the Convention in 2003, a constitution was adopted in 2004, with ratification by each state due that year.

One can also note his contribution to the creation of the European monetary system. It was important for him to bring the country up to the level of Germany, that is, to make the franc as solvent as the mark. The agreement on the introduction of a non-cash European currency - the ECU - was created under his leadership. Consonant with the ancient French coin, the monetary unit changed its name to Euro at the request of the German side.

He considered the driving force of European politics to be the Summits, now called the G8 meeting, which includes the leaders of 8 states, with a six-month chairmanship of each participating country.

By the European Council, created in 1974, he understood the formation of a political federation to which European countries would transfer part of their sovereignty. Although in reality his role turned out to be much smaller.

As Giscard d'Estaing recalled, “an important issue for France is its positioning in relation to the European Union. We will never be able to fully pay tribute to the imagination and insight of those who, from the still smoking ashes left by the war, called on the peoples to reconcile France and Germany and build a Union of Europe.

In 1978, I took part in the celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of Robert Schumann’s initiative, which took place in the Clock Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Quai d’Orsay. The attention of the ceremony participants was suddenly attracted by a light whistle that alarmed the guards, who mistook it for the hiss of the fuse of an explosive device, but, as it turned out, , it was published by the prime minister of one of the European countries, lulled by long speeches! The project of the Union of Europe 1950-1980 was distinguished by brilliance and logic. A noticeable imprint was left on it by France, whose leaders not only introduced one proposal after another, but also persistently brought them to completion. It was planned to unite all those who were congenial in Europe, that is, practically all the peoples who were once part of the empire of Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire, and later, voluntarily or against their will, found themselves in the Napoleonic Empire. The Iron Curtain of the Soviet occupation marked the eastern borders of the space of the Union. Of course, all these peoples experienced the ebbs and flows of History, but they retained the imprint of a common civilization and culture. The project aimed to unite all forms of their participation in international life, while developing a new type of organization that would allow states to preserve their historical identity.

France breathed easily in this project, and it was she who largely inspired it. For Germany, then still divided, this plan provided an opportunity to cleanse itself of the shameful stains of its recent past by joining the international community. The goal of this Union was modern, looked convincing and aroused enthusiasm among a significant part of the youth. And all this almost failed! Wisdom insisted that the matter should be completed before the future reunification of Germany. But the progress was suspended in the 1980s by the stubborn resistance of Margaret Thatcher, who spoke out, in particular, against the content that was supposed to be given to the Union in the political field by Giscard d'Estaing V. French: Reflections on the fate of the people: Translated from French - M. : Ladomir, 2004."

In 1984, Giscard d'Estaing proposed the introduction of the post of President of Europe. He was to become the President of the European Council; extending his mandate for several years would ensure the continuity and weight of European politics. This proposal, in a slightly modified form, formed the basis of the European Constitution. Introduction of the post the president and minister of foreign affairs of Europe would have made the system of European political representation significant. However, during the work of the Convention, Giscard d'Estaing was never able to consolidate supranational powers due to the fear of some countries of losing sovereignty.

His relationship to parliament was more complex. Consent to hold elections was given as a result of a de facto ultimatum from European leaders, who were ready to create the European Council only under this condition.

As for his idea of ​​creating a military-defense union, put forward in 1974, it proposed for the first time the integration of Germany into such a union, which was contrary to other countries. Having become President of the Convention, Giscard d'Estaing received a new opportunity to implement his ideas. It was thanks to his active support that articles were introduced into the draft Constitution to facilitate the creation of independent defense in Europe. The Convention recorded the creation of the European Armaments Agency (or "military headquarters") and " a matter of common solidarity" (providing mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the member countries of the Union). However, at the last moment before the adoption of the Constitution, the summit in Brussels introduced an amendment according to which the leading role in European defense would belong to NATO.

Former French President Giscard d'Estaing, appointed chairman of the Convention, an advisory body designed to develop a plan for the political reform of a united Europe, presented to the governments and public of EU countries a document born as a result of months of discussions.

The need for reform arose primarily due to the admission of new members to the EU, which threatens to make the old bureaucratic mechanism, based on the principle of consensus and a complex system of approvals, unmanageable. The Giscard d'Estaing Commission will also have to speak out on the fateful question - will a united Europe remain a union of sovereign states or will it turn into some kind of federation? Giscard d'Estaing is writing the EU constitution // BBC Press. - October 29, 2002

There were difficulties with the admission of other states to the EU. Giscard d'Estaing understood that the inclusion of new states in the union could make its structure as blurred as the UN is now.

As for the epigraph to the preamble of the draft Convention, he chose a quote from the ancient Greek historian Thucydides: “Our Constitution is called democracy because it is the rule not of a minority, but of a majority.” However, during the Brussels summit, this quote was crossed out, which caused a protest from Giscard d'Estaing, who said that he did not understand who could have been interfered with by the "unfortunate Thucydides" Kurginyan I.S. Valery^Giscard D'Estaing and the history of European integration. - With. 154. Obviously, this phrase contradicted the idea of ​​equality between states.

The document can be assessed by the responses of the European Official Press:

The Parisian Le Figaro called the plan "thoughtful." It provides for the consolidation of all treaties governing the activities of the EU into a single and easy-to-understand document.

“We have before us an example of a reasonable balance,” the newspaper writes. “While remaining within the bounds of the possible, the Convention is not afraid to look into the future.”

German newspapers also generally approve of the new proposals. They give ordinary citizens the opportunity to understand what is happening to Europe, to participate in these processes, and, if necessary, to protect themselves from them, writes Frankfurter Rundschau. “The current system of contracts is so chaotic, the important and the unimportant are mixed in it to such an extent that even a specialist is difficult to understand what it all means,” the newspaper claims.

soviet french european union

The Berlin Tagesspiegel is more skeptical, especially about Giscard d'Estaing's proposal to establish another supreme body in the EU - the Congress of the Peoples of Europe.

“Joshka Fischer’s critical attitude in this regard is quite understandable,” the newspaper believes. “And without the Congress of Peoples, the structure of the EU is complex and incomprehensible to most of its citizens. The main thing is not the number of government institutions, but to make them transparent and responsible to society.” . The question of whether a united Europe needs a president also remains open.

At the same time, the newspaper praises Giscard d'Estaing for at least the fact that he finally got things moving.

The Hamburg Welt calls the proposals revolutionary. “The plan opens the way to the emergence of a European Constitution. On Monday in Brussels, Giscard showed the public its frame - or, as evil tongues have already noted, the skeleton. Now it is necessary to build meat on it in the form of specific articles and provisions - of course, if the plan even gets a start in life ", the newspaper writes.

"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" also calls the presented document "no more and no less than a draft constitution." It also offers a choice of three names for the future superstate. The EU can return to its original name - the European Community. Another name - the United States of Europe - has been in use among politicians for almost a hundred years, but causes persistent allergies among Eurosceptics, for whom it is associated with a complete loss of national sovereignty. The third option, which Giscard d'Estaing himself seems to like - United Europe Giscard d'Estaing writes the EU constitution // BBC Press. - October 29, 2002.

The difficulty was with the introduction of the concept of Christianity into the constitution of the European Union. As a Catholic, he had a difficult relationship with the church, especially since he legalized abortion during his presidential term. The final text, at the insistence of Giscard d'Estaing, contains a footnote only to some very vague "cultural, religious and humanistic" heritage of Europe.

His rejection of Turkey as part of the European continent is also controversial. The leaders of European countries condemned the head of the Convention for attempting to impose an undemocratic image of Europe as a “Christian club.” Turkey, he believed, could be accepted into the European space, which has a special, but not uniform, structure with the European Union.

In relation to Russia, Giscard d'Estaing long ago developed the concept of "Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals." This term was first proposed by de Gaulle. In 1976, during the era of détente, Giscard d'Estaing interpreted it as an alliance to ensure security on the continent. He proposed the possibility of including European Russia in Greater Europe, but there was one thing... the condition for the refusal of “Russian nationalism to control the vast Asian possessions from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean” Kurginyan I.S. Valéry^Giscard D'Estaing and the history of European integration. - p. 155.

As for the referendum on the adoption of the constitution, France was one of the few countries that voted against it, the reasons for this being fear of unemployment and rejection of the neoliberal articles of the draft.