BY IAN GRANT
LONDON - In a move aimed at strengthening the hand of the rulers to launch another round of assaults on working people, President Jacques Chirac announced that elections to the French legislative assembly will take place May 25 and June 1, nearly one year early.

The ruling coalition of the Union for French Democracy (UDF) and Gaullist Rally for the Republic (RPR) parties currently holds a large majority in the French parliament. Nevertheless, attempts by the French rulers to inflict harsh austerity measures have met with determined resistance.

In November and December of 1995, a huge social movement organized strike actions which derailed the "Juppé plan." Named after French Prime minister Alain Juppé, this raft of government policies aimed to claw back social welfare and other gains won by workers in struggle. A year later, truck drivers won retirement at 55 and other concessions through militant actions. Their victory has prompted other fights.

Meanwhile, there has been a shift to the right in capitalist politics, including those of the Communist Party (CP) and the Socialist Party (SP). This has opened ground to the fascist National Front, headed by Jean-Marie Le Pen, which is being tipped to poll 14 percent of the vote.

Despite the unpopularity of his government, by calling elections now Chirac hopes to consolidate a reliable legislative body, albeit with a reduced majority for his coalition. Its five year term of office would remove the obligation of holding another national election until 2002, when his presidential term also expires.

The Financial Times of London described Chirac's move as a "huge political gamble," but commented, "It would also free the government from worries that it might need to implement an unpopular new package of austerity measures to ensure Francés qualification [for European Monetary Union (EMU)] just ahead of elections originally due in March 1998."

"Another victory for the centre-right could speed up the sorely needed overhaul of Francés economy," commented the April 26 Economist. What the Economist cited as Paris's "grander vision of France in Europe" is also viewed as a plus by the bosses, who are looking to better utilize French military muscle and its position as a nuclear power in competition with rivals in London, Bonn, and Washington.

The response of the opposition French SP has been to reject the economic criteria demanded by Bonn for Monetary Union as "dogma," and demand that the EMU "counterbalance American domination and favor growth and jobs." The SP will aim to forge an alliance with the French CP around the elections on this basis. SP leader Lionel Jospin claims Socialist policies will offer "less brutal, more protective" change.

Ian Grant is a member of the Transport and General Workers Union in London.  
 
 
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