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Pierre Mauroy

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Pierre Mauroy
Mauroy in 1982
Prime Minister of France
In office
21 May 1981 – 17 July 1984
PresidentFrançois Mitterrand
Preceded byRaymond Barre
Succeeded byLaurent Fabius
President of the Socialist International
In office
17 September 1992 – 10 November 1999
Preceded byWilly Brandt
Succeeded byAntónio Guterres
First Secretary of the Socialist Party
In office
14 May 1988 – 9 January 1992
Preceded byLionel Jospin
Succeeded byLaurent Fabius
Mayor of Lille
In office
8 January 1973 – 25 March 2001
Preceded byAugustin Laurent
Succeeded byMartine Aubry
Member of the French Senate
for Nord
In office
2 October 1992 – 30 September 2011
Personal details
Born(1928-07-05)5 July 1928
Cartignies, Nord, France
Died7 June 2013(2013-06-07) (aged 84)
Clamart, France
Political partySocialist Party
OccupationTeacher

Pierre Mauroy (French: [pjɛʁ moʁwa]; 5 July 1928 – 7 June 2013) was a French Socialist politician who was Prime Minister of France from 1981 to 1984 under President François Mitterrand. Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. At the time of his death Mauroy was the emeritus mayor of the city of Lille. He died from complications of lung cancer on 7 June 2013 at the age of 84.[1]

As prime minister, Mauroy's government implemented a range of social reforms during its term. These included reducing the legal workweek, lowering the retirement age, increasing social welfare benefits, and extending entitlement to paid holidays. The government increased state industrial investment, provided credit to private industry, created new civil service jobs, and launched a housebuilding drive. It also reduced the burden of direct taxes on lower-income groups, increased the minimum wage and unemployment benefits, and extended health care coverage. The Mauroy government also introduced measures to promote voluntary retirement, early retirement, and improve socio-economic conditions in low-income neighborhoods. Harsh immigration statutes were reversed, new rights were introduced for helper spouses, and an anti-discriminatory Professional Equality Law was enacted. The government also passed decentralizing laws that transferred responsibilities for urban and economic planning to municipalities and regions. These policies significantly improved the living standards of the less well-off in French society, reducing poverty during Mauroy's term in office

In the early 1980s, the Mauroy government introduced several ordinances and laws aimed at promoting gender equality, improving working conditions, and increasing access to education. These included limiting the duration of fixed-term contracts and assignments, opening up civil service jobs to women, abolishing tax laws that favored the head of the household, and providing special aid to farmers. The government also increased funding for education and created new teaching positions, particularly in technical education, and established Educational Priority Zones to address academic failure in depressed areas. Reforms were also introduced to make entry to the National School of Administration more accessible to a wider range of French society, including raising the age limit and reducing the advantage of upper-class applicants.

The Auroux Laws of 1982 improved the rights of trade unions and employees in France, including collective bargaining, representation, information, health and safety, and protection against unfair dismissal. The laws required compensation for overtime and increased paid time off for union activities. They also established mandatory collective bargaining and strengthened rules on health and safety. However, the comite d'entreprise remained a consultative body with limited influence on economic policy, and smaller firms were not required to provide economic information to their comite. The government also introduced measures to provide greater employment security for part-time and fixed-term workers, ensure equal benefits for women in civil service, and encourage the formation of immigrant associations. New policies removed language requirements for immigrants in employee institutions and allowed foreign workers to sit on industrial relations councils. A program to assist the repatriation of Algerian nationals was also replaced with a choice between vocational training, business assistance, and a repatriation grant.

The Mauroy Government in France passed several laws that reduced the powers of the prefect, increased the powers of local government and set up elected regional councils. They also abolished the security court and introduced measures to control police harassment. The government extended legal aid and passed legislation that combated discrimination against homosexuals. They reformed higher education, made the ENA more accessible and implemented a new healthcare policy that abolished private beds in hospitals. Additionally, the Mauroy Government promoted arts, culture and education by tripling state aid to the arts, quadrupling spending on public libraries and providing aid to provincial art museums and local archives. They also increased funding to provincial libraries, which resulted in more people obtaining access to major lending library resources. The provinces acquired new theatres, artistic centres, music halls, ballet companies, and popular culture facilities. Overall, the government significantly increased spending on culture from 0.45% of the national budget to 0.84% in 1984.

The social security reforms in France during the 1980s led to increased incomes for the poor, with a 25% increase in the minimum wage and improved allowances for the handicapped and child care. The right to claim sickness insurance was given back to unemployed workers and the costs of dental fees, hearing aids, and glasses were reimbursed. The minimum pension benefit for the elderly poor was raised by 62%. The SAFER was extended to assist young farmers, and various measures were introduced to boost farmers' incomes. Self-employed women were provided with a lump-sum maternity grant, and unemployment compensation was expanded to include workers who had resigned from their jobs. However, the reflationary economic strategy failed to improve the French economy in the long term, with increases in the level of inflation and trade and budget deficits. The number of people out of work topped 2 million, and austerity measures were carried out, including reducing unemployment benefits' duration and tightening eligibility, reducing guarantees to full pensions for early retirees, introducing hospital charges, and reducing medical reimbursements. The aim of the Socialists during the austerity period was to safeguard the position of beneficiaries and give special consideration to the poorest among them. While extra costs were imposed, efforts were made to restrain family costs while safeguarding priority groups. Failing to restrict the financing of private schools via the Savary Law, he resigned in 1984.

Biography

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Background

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Mauroy was born in Cartignies. A teacher, he led the Socialist Youth Movement and the Technical Teaching Union in the 1950s. He became a leading figure in the Socialist federation of Nord département, which was among the third biggest of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) party and climbed quickly in the party. In 1966, he became the second most powerful person of the party behind the secretary general, Guy Mollet. Nevertheless, when Mollet resigned as leader in 1969, Alain Savary was chosen to succeed him.

Political career

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After the electoral disasters of 1968 and 1969, he was persuaded of the necessity to renew the party. In 1971, during the Epinay Congress, he supported François Mitterrand's election to the party leadership and became the second most powerful person in the Socialist Party (PS). Two years later, he was elected as a deputy and Mayor of Lille.

Increasingly, Mauroy criticized the replacement of former SFIO members from important positions by allies of Mitterrand. In this, he formed an alliance with Michel Rocard, the main opponent of Mitterrand, during the 1979 Metz Congress. However, Mitterrand chose him as spokesperson during the 1981 presidential campaign; after Mitterrand's election, he appointed Mauroy as Prime Minister.

Prime minister

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Mauroy's government was a radical reforming one, implementing a wide range of social reforms including the reduction of the legal workweek from 40 to 39 hours,[2][3] the lowering of the retirement age to 60, and a rise in social welfare benefits.[4]

Pierre Mauroy in 1981.

Failing to restrict the financing of private schools via the Savary Law,[5] he resigned in 1984.

After Matignon

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Pierre Mauroy in 2007.

In 1988 he became First Secretary of the PS against the will of Mitterrand, who supported Laurent Fabius. Until the end of his term, in 1992, he tried to appease the relations between the factions which composed the PS, notably during the very strained 1990 Rennes Congress. He allied with the rocardien group and Lionel Jospin's supporters, who came from the mitterrandist group.

President of the Socialist International from 1992 to 1999, Senator since 1992, he left the Lille mayoralty in 2001. Considered a moral authority[citation needed] of the French Left, he supported the candidacy of Ségolène Royal during the 2007 primary election.

Political career

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Governmental functions

Prime minister : 1981–1984.[6]

Electoral mandates

European Parliament

Member of European Parliament : 1979–1980 (Resignation).

National Assembly of France

Member of the National Assembly of France for Nord (French department) (2nd, then 1st constituency from 1988 to 1992) : 1973–1981 (Became Prime minister in 1981) / 1984–1992 (Elected senator in 1992). Elected in 1973, reelected in 1978, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1988.[6]

Senate of France

Senator of Nord (French department) : 1992–2011. Elected in 1992, reelected in 2001.[6][7]

Regional Council

President of the Regional Council of Nord-Pas-de-Calais : 1974–1981.

Regional councillor of Nord-Pas-de-Calais : 1974–1981 / 1986–1988 (Resignation).

General Council

Vice-president of the General Council of Nord (French department) : 1967–1973.

General councillor of Nord (French department) : 1967–1973.

Municipal Council

Mayor of Lille : 1973–2001. Reelected in 1977, 1983, 1989, 1995.

Deputy-mayor of Lille : 1971–1973.

Municipal councillor of Lille : 1971–2008. Reelected in 1977, 1983, 1989, 1995, 2001.

Urban community Council

President of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole : 1989–2008. Reelected in 1995, 2001.

Vice-president of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole : 1971–1989. Reelected in 1977, 1983.

Member of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole : 1971–2008. Reelected in 1977, 1983, 1989, 1995, 2001.

Political function

First Secretary (leader) of the Socialist Party (France) : 1988–1992. Elected in 1988.

Mauroy's First Government, 21 May 1981 – 23 June 1981

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Mauroy's Second Government, 23 June 1981 – 22 March 1983

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Changes

Mauroy's Third Government, 22 March 1983 – 17 July 1984

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Changes

  • 4 October 1983 – Paul Quilès succeeds Quiliot as Minister of Town Planning and Housing.
  • 18 December 1983 – Roland Dumas enters the Cabinet as Minister of European Affairs.

References

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  1. ^ Baume, Maïa de la; Erlanger, Steven (7 June 2013). "Pierre Mauroy, Former French Socialist Premier, Dies at 84 - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  2. ^ http://aei.pitt.edu/9822/1/9822.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  3. ^ Sowerine, Charles (2001). France since 1870: Culture, Politics, and Society. New York: Palgrave. ISBN 0333658361.
  4. ^ Jones, C. (1999). The Cambridge Illustrated History of France. Cambridge University Press. p. 313. ISBN 9780521669924. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "Assemblée nationale – Base de données historique des anciens députés" (in French). National Assembly of France. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  6. ^ "Pierre MAUROY" (in French). Senate of France. Archived from the original on 17 June 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
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Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Lille
1973–2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of France
1981–1984 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by First Secretary of the Socialist Party
1988–1991 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Socialist International
1992–1999 		Succeeded by
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