France: Sarkozy's Popularity Declines
The other issue highlighted in the media and in the political climate of France last year was the prohibition against the wearing of the burqa in public places; a plan approved by the French Parliament on 14th of July 2010, and subsequently on 14th of September the French Senate approved the bill prohibiting the wearing of a burqa and veil for women in public places. Based on this law, about 2000 to 2500 French female Muslims who wear the veil are not allowed to do so in public places, and in the case of wearing a burqa, they will be fined 150 Euros and if they disobey they can be forced to perform public services.
Moreover, discussions on secularism were held in the political and media environments in France, and apparently France's ruling party wants to organize a congress in this connection. There are the debates that the Muslims of France have failed to completely absorb French culture and values (and also republican ones) during recent years and that they want to maintain their identity. And debates caused by the banning of the burqa, and the fear that Muslims have of losing their endangered national identities in European countries.
Now, the right and extremist parties, such as the National Front, try to provoke the issues to attract more fans and to gain popularity. One example of this popularity contest is that of Ms. Le Pen’s. According to some surveys, Marine Le Pen, the daughter of Jean Marie Le Pen, the former leader of the French National Front, who recently has been selected as the successor to her father, will achieve the majority vote, i.e. approximately 26 percent of the votes, in the upcoming presidential election to be held in 2012.
This is caused by the fear of Muslims instilled in European countries’ populations in recent years, a desire to maintain their national identity, and also economic issues. France suffers from almost 9 percent unemployment and despite measures taken by the State, the unemployment rate is still high. Many people believe that immigrants have ruined career opportunities for the French.
There is also an attempt to relate crimes occurring in French society to immigration. French Muslims numbering some 5 to 6 million, i.e. 10 percent of the French population, are seemingly more important than other immigrants, and are shields and propaganda tools to collect more votes.
The more important issue that occurred early last fall in France and was raised in the political environment and among the public was the retirement law: It was decided that the retirement age be increased from 60 to 62, and a full pension age from 65 to 67. This decision was met with strong opposition by labor unions, and there have been massive street demonstrations in France for several weeks. During the protests, Sarkozy's popularity declined by 30 percent.
The important change in the pension law was because the French pension fund faced a crisis. According to the population pyramid of France, the French population is aging; consequently, the amount paid in by workers did not suffice to pay out pensions and the pension fund faced budget deficits- it is predicted that the situation will be worse in the coming years. As such, the French government tried to reduce the deficit by increasing the retirement age. The French Parliament passed the pension act and in 2014 it will gradually be executed.
In addition, there was a euro crisis in the Europe Union. Due to budget deficits and the high debts of countries such as Greece, Ireland and Spain, the euro was under pressure and some suggested that the European single currency was in decline. Thus, countries like Germany and France tried to form a special fund to help euro members exposed to bankruptcy, and to save the European currency.
France’s election to the presidency of the G20 was an important issue for the country. The G20 was formed after the global economic crisis with the purpose to engage emerging powers like China, India and Brazil in the major global economy’s decisions. Sarkozy proposed some suggestions to reform the global monetary system, based on more control over the money markets and to not let the crisis deepen like that of the US in 2008, which might extend to the whole world again. In this regard, Sarkozy met with officials from China, India and the US, and proposed his suggestions for reform in the world monetary system.
One of the other important developments in France the last year was the reshuffling of the country's cabinet in two phases. In the first phase, the French minister of foreign affairs was substituted after three years with Michelle Marie Elliott. And in the second phase, Alain Juppe, the veteran politician and former prime minister of the ruling party, entered the cabinet and was appointed as Defense minister.
Moreover, the events that occurred in the Middle East and North Africa, especially in Tunisia, caused changes in the French cabinet and the immediate reflection of the developments in Tunisia was the pressure on France and finally, the replacing of the minister of foreign affairs. Accordingly, Michelle Marie, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs who had close relations with Tunisian President Zine el-Abedin Ben Ali, with her acceptance of his invitation to visit Tunisia and holiday there several months before the revolution, the French cabinet underwent another change: she was forced to resign due to pressure by Alain Juppe, and the minister of internal affairs was also substituted.
Besides the effects that developments in the North Africa had on the change of the French minister of foreign affairs, the developments there and in and Middle East, especially those in Libya with the critical situation and the probability of civil war, increasingly attracted French political circles. France was the first nation that recognized the interim government of the Qaddafi opponents in Benghazi. In addition, France acted enthusiastically in the adoption of the UN Security Council resolution on the no-fly zone, and its implementation, along with Britain and the U.S. Currently, the military forces of France and NATO are trying to paralyze the Libyan air force to curb its use of airport facilities against Qaddafi’s opponents.