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A Socialist Now Runs France -- A Closer Look At The President-Elect François Hollande

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posted on May, 7 2012 @ 09:39 AM
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This is the man that will now run France. His name is François Hollande. I'll be using Wikipedia as my basic info source here as this is just to put together his basic platform and ideas.


I want to discuss if fellow EU ATS Members believe his policies will work, or not. Of course any other members from accross the pond ( as I am) may chime in with their thoughts.

First let's start with his election policies.


Foreign policy: supports the withdrawal of French troops present in Afghanistan by the end of 2012.[28]

European politics: aims to conclude a new contract of Franco-German partnership and he advocates the adoption of a Directive on the protection of public services. Proposes closer Franco-German partnership: "an acceleration of the establishment of a Franco-German civic service, the creation of a Franco-German research office, the creation of a Franco-German industrial fund to finance common competitiveness clusters (transport, energy or environment) and the establishment of a common military headquarters."[29]

Financial system: backs the creation of a European rating agency and the separation of lending and investment in banks.

Energy: endorses reducing the share of nuclear power in electricity generation from 75 to 50% in favor of renewable energy sources.

Taxation: supports the merger of income tax and the General Social Contribution (CSG), the creation of an additional 45% for additional income of 150,000 euros, capping tax loopholes at a maximum of €10,000 per year, and questioning the relief solidarity tax on wealth (ISF, Impôt de Solidarité sur la Fortune) measure that should bring €29 billion in additional revenue.

Education: supports the recruitment of 60,000 new teachers, the creation of a study allowance and means-tested training, setting up a mutually beneficial contract that would allow a generation of experienced employees and craftsmen to be the guardians and teachers of younger newly-hired employees, thereby creating a total of 150,000 subsidized jobs.

Aid to SME's, with the creation of a public bank investment-oriented SME's and reducing the corporate tax rate to 30% for medium corporations and 15% for small.

Recruitment of 5,000 judges, police officers and gendarmes.

Construction of 500,000 homes per year, including 150,000 social, funded by a doubling of the ceiling of the A passbook, the State making available its local government land within five years.

Restoration of retirement at age 60 for those who have contributed more than 41 years.

Hollande supported same-sex marriage and adoption for LGBT couples, and has plans to pursue the issue in early 2013.[30]

The provision of development funds for deprived suburbs.[31]

Return to a deficit of 0% of GDP in 2017.[32]

Favours ratifying the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, for the recognition of regional languages of France: Alsatian, Lorraine Franconian, French Flemish, Catalan, Corsican, Breton, Gallo, Basque, Langues d'oïl, Franco-Provençal and Occitan.[33][34]

Wants to "combine the positions of presidents of the European Commission and of the European Council (currently held by José Manuel Barroso and Herman van Rompuy respectively) into a single office and that it should be directly chosen" by the Members of the European Parliament.[29]


Source

Now some of these things on this list are radical to say the least in terms of Western policy or even current European policy. From the taxation guidelines, to reducing Nuclear Energy by 25% and pulling ALL french troops back from conflicts by the end of this current year.

Pretty bold underdaking if you ask me. Now generally I am quite ignorant of politics in the EU, mostly because I don't live there, so this is why I ask fellow ATS members to enlighten me.

Will he be the sort of President who gets shot? Will the people love him and the government hate him?

Let's imagine his policies work and France becomes a stabler nation within the EU and it's people become more prosperous in 5 years, accomplishing even if only half of what he's proposed here, will the rest of the world listen?

Will Western pundits and politicians seek the same sort of remedy for their issues? Or will they continue to berate socialists and their ideas as evil? Mind you they call Obama a socialist int he US, when really he's a center-right President if you look at his actions during office.

In any case, what say you ATS?

~Tenth



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 09:49 AM
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Let's imagine his policies work and France becomes a stabler nation within the EU and it's people become more prosperous in 5 years, accomplishing even if only half of what he's proposed here, will the rest of the world listen?


It would be ignored. I'm not saying the policies planned are apt to work or fail, but there have been several previously in France and other European nations that were widely successful and completely overlooked by countries that don't have the same political views.

Changing policies is difficult because you have to accept what everyone was putting down for years passed.



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 09:50 AM
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Only time will tell but he does seem to favor us little people before big business.
Iam a socialist and I do not understand people who slag it off, so Iam happy he got in.
Hopefully he will show the rest of europe how to run a country and the rest of us will follow suit.
But like yourself Iam not up to scratch on EU politics.

Iam a little miffed that the outgoing presidents wife will not be on telly as much
she was the finest 1st lady ever


S&F dude.

Oh and PS come on you french members join in this thread so we can get your views



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 09:50 AM
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hi op

i will say it first
Arrogant French Git
not going into detail but
dont forget the nuclear alliance made with us and france not long ago
belgium seems to be forced into the alliance..
but what do i know, im just a nobody in a government (aliens lol) controlled world



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 09:53 AM
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Originally posted by boymonkey74
Only time will tell but he does seem to favor us little people before big business.
Iam a socialist and I do not understand people who slag it off, so Iam happy he got in.
Hopefully he will show the rest of europe how to run a country and the rest of us will follow suit.
But like yourself Iam not up to scratch on EU politics.

Iam a little miffed that the outgoing presidents wife will not be on telly as much
she was the finest 1st lady ever


S&F dude.

Oh and PS come on you french members join in this thread so we can get your views


hya
i favour socialists (from what i know)
but he will change it into something else
nationalist socialist perhaps?
(sorry bad humour)



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 09:53 AM
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Wow, my first thought was who is he going to tax or what is going to cut to pay for all that? Who doesn't want more teachers and better schools and free homes for the homeless? I want all the hungry in the world to be fed but that doesn't mean I have the resources to do it.



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 09:59 AM
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reply to post by jjkenobi
 


He wants to implement a 45% tax on the rich to pay for it. Which the people in France are VERY happy about it seems. From what I read there was also a group of rich folks advocating this measure.

~Tenth



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 10:02 AM
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Socialism = government control
That is all you need to know



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 10:05 AM
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This was a big big mistake. Just look at all those jobs he's promised- all the functionaires- that the government is going to pay for. Already we have a problem with the rich leaving the country because of the huge taxation.. that is going to get worse. Who the heck is going to pay for all this he promises???

Being for the little guy is great.... except the little guy and the big guy are interdependant- not enemies.
This is what makes me so pissed at the socialists in France! Get rid of the employers, the employees cannot be. We have an understanding of that in the US and took it too far (going into worshipping the big guy and throwing the little one under the bus) .

The people got scared. Things look rough ahead, and all that talk of austerity sounded so icky, they decided to believe in Hollande Claus instead. What this means for France, and the Euro, in the next few months is horrific.


besides, he looks like a penis wearing glasses. Pfft.

edit on 7-5-2012 by Bluesma because: (no reason given)



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 10:08 AM
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posted on May, 7 2012 @ 10:16 AM
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He is going to get into some deep problems IMO, even if he's policies work out great for the french people, he will have problems on the international side.

First off, Germany is not going to be very happy at all. They have already 'flexed their muscles' so to speak to Greece, who just voted for an anti-austerity party, and Germany turned around and quite simply said "No, you're not doing that, you are still going to pay". Not on either side of that, as Germany did bailout Greece, so it's understandable, but i expect her to say the same to France, just not so open because France is the second most powerful EU state, but like it or not, France will have to pay back it's debts, if not, the whole EU will crash extreamly quick. A little example here;

People investing in the Euro believe that France and Germany will sort out the mess, to sort out the mess, Germany has had to lend to other countries at a lower price, and bail some of them out, in order to keep the EU rolling and collecting investments. Now, if all the money that Germany was promised back no longer comes, then Germany is left with a huge hole. Investers won't put money in, because they believe that countries will default, and if that happens, Germany is left with the bill, and if Germany pays off everyones debt, then Germany itself is financialy screwed, resulting in strong austerity measures, in the strongest country in the EU, and that will slow down it's growth, causing a spiral of debt right in the centre of the EU, and well you can see what will happen from there. This is why everyone is worrying about this chap, they believe that he will turn away from the countries debt, and create more, adding to the strain on Germany's back.

The main worry i have is how the Franco-German relations will pan out, because to me it seems that the EU is going to be split into two. The socialists (Greece, France, and others i believe will follow) and the capitalists (Germany, Italy, etc etc). The capitalists will want their money back, and the socialists will say no. The socialist side will be sided with France, the second most powerful economy in the Euro, and the capitalists with Germany. Here we can start to see a sort of "Us and them" scenario playing out in a continent stuck together politicaly through the European parliament. How this will pan out? Im not too sure, but looking at history, when Germany are about to loose control of Europe, they can turn quite nasty. This could be why he is after a franco-german/european army, to prevent this turning miltary, im not too sure, but with a country so high up in the pecking order of the EU siding with the socialists, I think the EU will split, financialy, politicaly, and culteraly (sp). It's impossible to know what will actualy happen after, but that is the reason people worry, knowing the change is coming to their way of life, but just not knowing what will be changed, and how.



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 10:16 AM
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Originally posted by tothetenthpower
they call Obama a socialist int he US, when really he's a center-right President if you look at his actions during office.


Obama is not a center-right president

Id say Obama is center-left and Hollande is far-left.



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 10:17 AM
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reply to post by Chadwickus
 


Even better?


So that's a bit much even by my standards....but yeah, IMO go for it. Make them rich folks pay a bit more for a few years while everybody plays catch up.

~Tenth



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 10:19 AM
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Francois Hollande is a Socialist, add to that his campaign video with that awful song “Niggas in Paris” playing; he seems like the kind of guy I would want running my country.
It is not like their alternative was any better, that Nicolas Sarkozy ran as a Marine Le Pen, which really meant run as far away from his record of “accomplishments” as possible. So many right-wingers had high hopes for Le Pen, but she was not going to do anything for their favor either. Just listen to her speak, it is that same old abstract, destructive, lunatic ideals which got all Western civilization into the crisis we are currently experiencing.

Perhaps if anything good comes out of a Hollande government is the awakening of the great French people from their delusion.



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 10:19 AM
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reply to post by Skyfloating
 


Right, but I call him center Right because he's ALWAYS caved to GOP pressure on every single issue he's been presented with. He can't negotiate on to the left in this climate, he has to appease the left.

Just look at the Bush Tax Cuts, the continuation of the War On Terror in some respects.

He's really IMO not been a very left President at all, the things the right give him a hard time for are things that the GOP used to be ok with, the mandate for example.

~Tenth



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 11:05 AM
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reply to post by tothetenthpower
 


75% is way too much.

It'll force those are in that tax bracket to leave as per the article or find some other way to not get taxed 75%.

Now, I know this is ATS and the in thing is to hate on the rich...so my apologies here...the rich may earn a lot, but they spend a lot too and such a high tax will scare many away and then you lose twofold.

Then there is the lowering of retirement age, the argument here is that over 60's cost more to employ...I don't see it myself since lowering the retirement age puts more people on a pension, which surely would cost more than a 62 year old earning his own wage, right?

But I wouldn't expect anything else from a socialist though!





edit on 7/5/12 by Chadwickus because: (no reason given)



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 11:06 AM
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All I know is I'm glad I don't live in France

Can anyone say Greece 2.0?



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 11:08 AM
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reply to post by Chadwickus
 


Yah no I agree, way too high.

As for the retirement age, I read that he only wanted to have it for people who had paid into system for 40+ years. As it's those people who deserved the 60 retirement before it was raised to 62.

And yes, some rich folk will leave the country, but I don't think it will have that drastic of an effect. Even then, he'd still get a good year out of them before they did leave which would no doubt help the country financially.

it's going to be an interesting year I'll tell you that.

~Tenth



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 11:33 AM
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Applying more moderate socialism to fix France is like applying a chainsaw to fix a cut.

He's gotten elected by promising the unlikely to the desperate.

He cant possibly succeed. Its a hospital pass.

en.wikipedia.org...

If the ship is doomed why would you want to be captain at the point it actually sinks. I guess thats the same reason the republicans in the US seem determined not to win in 2012.



posted on May, 7 2012 @ 11:56 AM
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my opinion from a uk perspective.

i understand mr cameron (pm) declined a meeting (probably clashed with the horseriding with rebecca) with hollande pre-election. mr cameron phones msr hollande to congratulate him on a victorious election result. mr cameron pledges to work very closely with msr hollande.

i interpret the last sentence as, 'we need a bug in hollande's office so we know where we stand with using their aircraft carrier should msr hollande's government get in bed with argentina.'

as with the situation regarding greece, it will be interesting how both these countries fare short and long term.

f.







 
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