The day of strikes in France on Thursday showed that the anxiety aroused by the crisis was real and widespread. That anxiety is all the greater for the fact that neither the unions, nor the opposition parties, nor the government offer any satisfactory response to diffuse turmoil and distress.

    It would be premature to compare the present situation to the one that existed during the 1930s at the time of the Great Depression.

    But we must stay alert. In Iceland, the government was swept away on January 26 by the discontent the crisis aroused. In Greece, the December riots may resume. In Bulgaria, the stoppage of Russian gas deliveries aroused protest movements. In the Baltic countries and central Europe, governments are in trouble. The situation risks deteriorating.

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    With the worsening of the recession, conditions are assembled for an expansion of social movements with the risk of an excess here or there. The Gare Saint Lazare affair was a warning in France.

    Under these conditions, the message must be very didactic. Explain the gravity of the crisis. Explain why the recovery plans, why the pursuit of reforms. Present things in their international context. Nothing is worse than silence, since it opens the way for rumors and manipulations. And leads to extremism on the left and the right.

    Preparing the population for difficulties also implies making sure that sacrifices are shared. Obama was right to lash out against "irresponsible" bankers, who preserve their own several million-dollar bonuses while their banks have just been saved from bankruptcy. It is extremely rare for a United States president to express himself in these terms. That's an indication of the gravity of the situation.

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    Translation: Truthout French language editor Leslie Thatcher.

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Kingdom

Saturday 31 January 2009

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by: Laurent Joffrin, Libération

    A certain July 14, having just learned of the storming of the Bastille, Louis XVI asked the Duke of Liancourt, "Is it a revolt?" And the clear-sighted adviser answered, "No, Sire, it's a revolution." Zero chance that such a scene should take place with Nicolas Sarkozy: The Duke of Liancourt would have been transferred before he opened his mouth. So it goes in the Kingdom of France: the senior official who didn't know how to protect the august ears from the people's raillery is dismissed like a lackey. And the police lieutenant, too, for good measure.

    We know senior government officials are dismissible without notice. Even if they're not music enthusiasts, prefects are accustomed to waltzing. But it was the Prince's caprice that explained the sanction that struck the La Manche prefect, a sanction even UMP representatives themselves consider outrageous.

    This affair is not simply colorful. It symbolizes a whole approach. Thursday, the biggest demonstration witnessed since the anti-CPE protest expressed the sense of injustice that a great many French citizens feel at the unequal distribution of sacrifices during the crisis.
Friday, governmental officials explained that the policy conducted up until now will not change one iota. "As of now, when there is a strike in France," Nicolas Sarkozy said, "no one notices." The provocative witticism must be reformulated: as of now, when there is a colossal demonstration in France, no one at the Elysée notices. Here's a state of affairs that augurs badly for social dialogue.

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    Translation: Truthout French language editor Leslie Thatcher.