France: Policy Process, Performance and Capabilities

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France Policy Process, Performance and
Capabilities
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Functions of the Political System
3
Policy Performance, Outcomes and Capabilities
Fifth Republic France at the Beginning of the
Twenty First Century
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Policy Performance in France Welfare as
Distribution

• Uneven ability to distribute benefits of growth
  fuels conflict
• Wealth becoming more concentrated
• Pockets of poverty in the rural areas
• Pockets of poverty in the cities
• Unemployed industrial workers
• Ethnic North Africans

• Urban decay Paris

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Immigration and Distributive Capability

• Legacy of French Colonialism
• French Algeria in World War II
• Reconstruction
• Algerian Independence
• Pied-Noir vs. Harkis
• North African Immigration
• The expansion of the Banlieue (5 million
  residents)
• 20 unemployment (8.6)
• 26.5 poverty (6)
• 15 single parent families (8)
• Second generation immigrants more assertive

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Extractive Capability

• Overall capability high
• Taxes levied by central government
• Taxes levied by local government
• Taxes levied by Social Security Association
  (ASSO)
• Regressive taxation
• Percentage of income paid in taxes is higher for
  lower income people
• Indirect taxation
• Value Added Tax
• 19.6 base rate, 5.5 for food and books, 2.6
  for medicine

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Comparative Extractive Capability
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The income Tax a Comparison of Tax Rates in USA
and France
Tax Rate US Income Bracket Tax Rate French Income Bracket
10 0-8350 0 0-8252
15 8351-33950 5.5 8253-16461
25 33951-82350 14 16462-36561
28 82251-171550 30 36562-98018
33 171551-372950 40 98018
35 372951
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French Policy Performance Expropriation/Nationali
zation as Distribution

• Nationalizations and post World War II Catch up
  policy
• Gaullists and Socialists on same page
• Footprint of State control
• Banking
• Energy and transportation
• 13 of 20 largest firms
• 24 all workers received check directly from
  government

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French Policy Performance Conflicting
Perspectives on the French Right

• Demands for privatization increase in late 1980s
  because of poor performance by state industries
• Calls by the political right for social spending
• Modernization remains an issue
• Dirigisme declines
• Socialism vs. liberalism

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French Policy Performance Welfare as
Distribution

• Most effective in social transfers
• Education
• 18 million students (nearly 25 or population)
• Higher education is funded by the state
• 7.2 of GDP is spent on education
• Social security
• Income security
• Four additional types
• Illness
• old age
• family
• recovery
• Other forms of income security

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French Policy Performance National Defense

• Components
• French Air Force
• French Army
• French Navy
• Force de frappe

• Hervé Morin
• (Minister of Defense)

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Cold War Defense Policy

• Attempt to Regain control over former Colonies
• Indochina
• Africa
• De Gaulles withdrawal from NATOs command
  structure
• Plans for self sufficiency
• Backdoor agreement with NATO

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Post Cold War French Defense Policy Performance

• Socialists vs. Gaullists
• Socialists downplay national security
• Chiracs plans for defense modernization
  short-circuited by Socialist victory in 1997
  National Assembly elections
• Current panorama
• Concern that Frances place in world declining
• Gulf war France made less of a contribution
  than Britain
• Balkan peace keeping reveals greater French
  military weakness
• Focus on external power projection
• Rejoining NATOs command structure
• Terrorist groups in Francophone Africa
• Cases if Deployments abroad
• Afghanistan
• Libya

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French Policy Performance Regulation

• Some reduction over industry
• Inefficiency of state run enterprises
• Remains issue of contention between right and
  left
• Expanded with regard to individual rights
• Expanded in environmental controls
• Restrictions on individuals of foreign origin
• Largely immigrants from North Africa
• Religion important part of regulatory battle

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French Policy Performance Symbols and Symbolic
Capability

• French culture/civilization still a source of
  pride
• Cleavage of French Revolution largely healed
• Ethnic consciousness growing
• Historic minorities (Bretons)
• Muslim immigration from North Africans
• Head scarves

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Policy Outputs are Political Goods