The Third Way is, at best, regarded by French Socialists as a specifically British approach to the renewal of social democracy. At worst and more often, it is perceived merely as a form of neoliberalism.
The term ‘liberalism’ in France means, first and foremost, economic liberalism.
Political liberalism does not come readily to mind. Hence, Lionel Jospin candidly summed up the position of the French Socialists as follows: ‘If the Third Way is situated between communism and capitalism, then it is nothing more than a new, specifically British, term for social democracy, which does not mean to say that we hold exactly the same views in France. If, on the other hand, it is positioned between social democracy and liberalism, then I personally cannot subscribe to it… I believe that the Third Way is actually the national manifestation particular to the UK of that process of theoretical and political reinvention which all socialists and social democrats have gone through.’
The French Socialists (PS) are generally hostile to the idea of the Third Way for specific historical reasons – reasons which differ from those put forward by New Labour in support of the Third Way: their presence in power during the 1980s, and the central role of the state.
The PS’ hostility can also be attributed to the fact that they depend on building alliances on the left to form a majority. Since 1997, this has taken the form of a ‘plural majority’ with the Communists, the Greens and two smaller, secondary parties: the left-wing Radicals and the Citizens’ Movement, alongside the Socialists.
The presence of parties in the majority which are unambiguously opposed to the idea of the Third Way, such as the Communist Party, leads Lionel Jospin, and the PS more broadly, to adopt an even more cautious stance. The position of the Greens is more complex because there is no real agreement about the Third Way amongst the key members. For example, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, who headed the Green List at the European elections in 1999, has more in common ideologically with the Third Way than Dominique Voynet, who is leader of the party and a minister in the Jospin Government. Cohn-Bendit even defines himself as a liberal libertarian.
But the differences between French ‘modern socialism’ and the British Third Way can be most clearly seen in the policies of the Jospin Government. Above all else, these are characterised by voluntarism and a belief in state action governed by law, primarily, but not uniquely, in the economic sphere. These policies – for instance youth employment in the public sector, the 35 hour week, the civil solidarity pact (authorising gay marriage), and gender equality – often take place in the face of violent reactions from society.
However, Jospin’s policies are equally shaped by pragmatism. Despite the presence of the Communists at its very core, it is the ‘plural majority’ which has privatised more, close to 180 billion francs, than any other French government, including those of the right.
The French Socialists and their allies also place particular emphasis on the maintenance of some level of social equality and not just social justice. Important laws such as those governing universal medical cover or those against social exclusion (which come into force in the autumn) reveal a particular concern for the preservation of social cohesion. As the Prime Minister evoked in his now famous formula – ‘Yes to the market economy, no to the market society’ – this is to prevent the types of regulation, or rather the absence of regulation characteristic of the market, from penetrating society as a whole.
Government opposition to the project of ‘social renewal’ put forward by the French Employers Federation, which proposed a new unemployment benefit scheme, akin to the concept of workfare jointly managed by trade unions and employers, demonstrates the extent to which the model of state regulation remains potent for the French left.
The promotion of the state as the answer to social inequality, as the regulator of the market, and as the stimulus for significant ‘societal advancements’ in effect distinguishes the left in France from many of its counterparts in Europe and beyond, particularly from those who associate themselves with the Third Way.