France's Radical Move

I've been wanting to write something about the recent election in France but I couldn't come up with anything really good. Essentially, the people of France rejected 25 years of socialism and elected the conservative Nicolas Sarkozy. France, despite their superior attitude, has long suffered from high unemployment, high government dependency and social and economic unrest. But I couldn't come up with the article...so I am borrowing some highlights from Cal Thomas, a syndicated columnist. I thought he summed it up pretty well...this isn't America electing Ronald Reagan or Britain electing Margaret Thatcher...but it could be a move in the right direction for France and, hopefully, the entire European Union:

After decades of socialist influ­ence in France, could the French election be a precursor to a Margaret Thatcher-like comeback for conservatives? Perhaps. Though, on foreign policy, Sarkozy is more pro-American than his predecessor, Jacques Chirac, he is still opposed to the Iraq War and doesn’t want to seem too pro-American since most of the French remain firmly anti­American. But let’s not look a gift horse — French or otherwise — in the mouth. Any turn away from policies that have hurt the French economy and threatened its cul­ture with a flood of immigrants who refuse to assimilate is bound to be an improvement.

Sarkozy may not be a Thatcher (whose 1979 victory in Britain heralded an economic revitaliza­tion) or a Ronald Reagan (ditto in the U.S.), but he vows to at least begin where they did. Sarkozy wants to “loosen” the 35-hour workweek by offering tax breaks on overtime in exchange for work­ing longer hours. He wants to trim fat from the bloated public service sector, cut taxes and do something to correct high unemployment (currently at about 8.3 percent). France has also suffered from falling living standards and a decline in industrial might.

Cutting taxes will help create jobs and raise living standards. When such policies have been implemented in other countries (Ireland, Britain and the United States) an economic boom has fol­lowed. The Conservative victory shows that the French are ready for that boom.

Sarkozy also sounded a little like Thatcher and Reagan when, during his campaign, he promised to crackdown on criminals and curb the power of unions. Unions have been a driving force behind guaranteed jobs that have kept employers from firing incompe­tent workers.

Among the most pressing prob­lems for Sarkozy’s presidency will be how to handle its estimated 5 million Muslim immigrants, some of whom shook the foundations of the country when they rioted in 2005. He will have to be more rhetorically cautious than during his campaign when he promised to rid neighborhoods of the “scum” responsible for the troubles. Still, France, which has the largest Muslim immigrant population in Europe, is faced with a major challenge to its culture, freedoms, language and everything else that makes France what it is.

So, it should be an interesting transition France. Of course, Sarkozy's party needs to win the Parliament next month to actually implement his plans. It's apparent that socialism has failed the French people and they are wanting to take a step back and give free market a chance. Many will be watching closely, including me.