FEARS of an explosion of violence on New Year’s Eve have forced President Nicolas Sarkozy to abandon an education reform that was considered one of the cornerstones of his government’s programme after it prompted angry protests from students.
Sarkozy, 53, has often mocked his predecessors for backtracking on reforms after street protests. His volte-face last week after noisy demonstrations by schoolchildren exposed him to ridicule as well as baffling his supporters.
It emerged that Sarkozy feared the protests would spill over into Christmas and the new year, spiralling into a dangerous Europe-wide student uprising inspired by the scenes of mayhem in Greece, where protests continued last week.
“We don’t want a European May ’68 in the middle of Christmas,” Sarkozy told his ministers in a reference to protests four decades ago that led to the collapse of General Charles de Gaulle’s government in 1969.
Sarkozy also worries that celebrations on New Year’s Eve could erupt into rioting similar to the disturbances that set immigrant suburbs ablaze in France three years ago.
“Things are heating up everywhere in Europe, in Greece, but also in Spain, Italy and even in France. The slogan of the Greek students about ‘the €600 generation’ could easily catch on here,” he said, referring to complaints by Greek students about being unable to find jobs paying more than €600 (£557) a month.
The backsliding on reforms is part of a wider shift by “Sarko” since the global financial crisis resurrected lingering French doubts about capitalism. Having come to power on a platform of “work more to earn more”, the hyperactive French leader has lurched leftwards now that even America has lost some of its appetite for the free market.
On Monday he abandoned a long-standing promise to allow Sunday shopping. Opposition to the idea of longer working hours has grown, particularly since the perceived failure of the so-called Anglo-Saxon model under which Britain upheld hard work as the secret of economic success.
Sarkozy no longer dares to single out Britain as the path for France to follow. France may be hurting, but the media, with more than a hint of schadenfreude, are full of tales of misery in Britain, from the collapse of Woolworths to the City’s legion of unemployed.
The government claimed that the education reform, which was intended to improve the performance of high schools by overhauling the curriculum, was being postponed until next year rather than being dumped. Yet the move, which followed similar protests from university students over plans to give universities more autonomy in managing their budgets, was seen as the first big retreat by Sarkozy since he took office last year.
Despite the government’s backdown, the protests continued and schoolchildren blocked railway lines and fought running battles with police on Thursday. Several protesters were arrested after clashes in Lyons, where a car was burnt and five police were injured.
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5375518.ece
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2 comments:
Strange how a bunch of school kids can wield so much power. No doubt if it kicks off Le Pen will remain quiet AGAIN.
Vice-President Spiro Agnew When In Office.
This should read as Zionists rather than Jews. Many Jews are opposed to Zionism
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Vice-President Spiro Agnew As To The Jews In The United States When In Office:
"The people who own and manage national impact media are Jewish and, with other influential Jews, helped create a disastrous U.S. Mideast policy. All you have to do is check the real policy makers and owners and you find a much higher concentration of Jewish people than you're going to find in the population. By national impact media I am referring to the major news wire services, pollsters, Time and Newsweek Magazines, the New York Times, Washington Post, and the International Herald Tribune.
For example, CBS' Mr. (William) Paley's Jewish. Mr. Julian Goodman, who runs NBC, and there's a Leonard Goldenson at ABC. Mrs. Katherine Graham owns the Washington Post and Mr. Sulzberger the New York Times. They are all Jews! You go down the line in that fashion...not just with ownership but go down to the managing posts and discretionary posts... and you'll find that through their aggressiveness and their inventiveness, they now dominate the news media. Not only in the media, but in academic communities, the financial communities, in the foundations, in all sorts of highly visible and influential services that involve the public, they now have a tremendous voice.
Our policy in the Middle East in my judgment is disastrous, because it's not even handed. I see no reason why nearly half the foreign aid this nation has to give goes to Israel, except for the influence of this Zionist lobby. I think the power of the news media is in the hands of a few people...it's not subject to control of the voters, it's subject only to the whim of the board of directors." (Former Vice-President of the United States - Spiro Agnew)
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