Postscript. 1990 to 1994: Political and Policy Responses to Recession

Abstract

The most clearly identifiable developments in French politics during the early 1990s have been the changes of Governments and the shifts in the balance of political forces as the consequence of elections. Until 1993 these changes appeared to be of secondary significance. In May 1991, when Mitterrand replaced Michel Rocard by Edith Cresson, the only surprise was that at last France was to have its first woman Prime Minister. In April 1992, when he replaced Cresson by Pierre Bérégovoy, he appeared to be merely exchanging an unpopular Socialist leader for a more respected one. Similarly, the results of the cantonal and regional elections of March 1992, which demonstrated the unpopularity of the PS, were hardly unexpected. They were in line with trends already visible in the 1989 municipal and European elections. Nor did they produce major power shifts in the regional councils, since the previous elections had been held in 1986, when the Socialists had also been unpopular. In contrast, the narrowness of the victory of the ‘yes’ vote in the referendum on the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty in September 1992 did surprise some, but mainly those who had expected the result to reflect earlier opinion polls about the popularity of European integration.