Mitterrand, François Maurice
An outspoken opponent of de Gaulle, Mitterrand ran against him for president in 1965, winning 45% of the vote in a runoff election. In 1974 he again ran for president as the Socialist party candidate, but he lost by a small margin to Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. By 1978 the Socialists were the most popular party in France, and in 1981, Mitterrand became president with the support of the Communist party, which he then marginalized.
Mitterrand's program of bank and insurance company nationalization, wage raises, and decentralization did not stem unemployment and inflation. Mitterrand tried to develop a more conservative program, known as “economic realism,” replacing Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy, a long-time Socialist, with Laurent Fabius, a pragmatic economist. Internationally, Mitterrand sought to strengthen the European Community (now the European Union) and pursue an independent foreign policy in the Middle East and Africa. When the Socialists lost the National Assembly in 1986, Mitterrand retained the presidency but had to work with the right-wing government of Premier Jacques Chirac. This so-called cohabitation ended in triumph for Mitterrand, who won reelection in 1988.
After the Socialists regained control of the assembly (1988), Mitterrand appointed Michel Rocard as premier. Rocard followed Mitterrand's centrist politics, but in 1991 Mitterrand replaced Rocard with Edith Cresson, who became France's first woman premier. After a poor showing by the Socialists in local elections, Cresson resigned (1992) and was replaced by Pierre Bérégovoy. Following a conservative victory in the 1993 legislative elections, Mitterrand appointed Édouard Balladur, a Gaullist, as premier, and he was again forced into cohabitation.
Gravely ill with cancer, Mitterrand retired in 1995, having served longer than any other French president. His personal popularity, pragmatism, and resourcefulness were key to his long and successful tenure in office. Mitterrand's accomplishments as president included a greater internationalism, particularly improved relations with other European nations, and a steady domestic decentralization. His most lasting legacy, however, may lie not in politics but in the multifaceted revitalization of Paris, especially the “Grands Travaux” [great works], a spate of important new urban projects undertaken during his presidency with his active encouragement.
See his posthumously published
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