International Worker No 239, Saturday, September 13, 1997 Jospin's 350,000 jobs bluff Employment creation in France By Peter Schwarz There are marked similarities between the social policies being proposed by Labour's Peter Mandelson and those of the new Socialist Party government in France. In mid-August, the French Minister of Labour, Martine Aubry, presented her plan for the creation of 350,000 new jobs for youth in the public service. This was one of the most important election promises which Lionel Jospin and the Socialist Party made before replacing the Gaullist administration of Alain Juppé following the June poll. The jobs are to be created over a period of five years and will be 80% financed by the government. Those eligible to apply must be between 18 and 26 years old, and those under 30 who have not worked for longer than four months. The jobs will mainly be with the regional and local administration, but the police, the courts, prisons, schools, hospitals, voluntary organisations, transportation and public housing construction will also be able to make use of this state-financed labour. In the autumn, Aubry will conduct negotiations with the employers organisations and the trade unions regarding the creation of a further 350,000 jobs in the private sector. The Ministry of Labour has presented 22 "job profiles", on the basis of which youth can be employed. Here are some examples: Security Assistant -- works in the reception areas of police stations, helps with the victims of crime and thus relieves the burden on the national police force. Financed by the Interior Ministry, which will establish up to 20,000 such posts. Probation Assistant -- will be employed with those who have committed minor offences in order to offer an alternative to a prison sentence (such as Community Work) providing supervision and assistance. They will be employed by the Youth Courts and the State Attorneys Office. Prison Assistant -- helps families visiting inmates, by informing them of visiting procedures, looking after children and organising overnight accommodation. Education Assistant -- several tasks are envisaged: teacher support, assisting pupils with their homework, the organisation of free-time activities, dissipating youth violence, improving the relations between schools, parents and the local authorities. They will be employed by voluntary organisations, the schools and local authorities and financed by the Ministries of Education, Families or Sport. Accommodation Agent -- will negotiate between tenants and the Housing Departments, preventing graffiti in residential areas and improving security. Transport Assistant -- to help children, the disabled and the elderly when travelling. Employed by the Transport companies. Waste-disposal Agent -- deals with the disposal of industrial and private waste, supervises refuse dumps and informs the public regarding the need to minimise rubbish. Environmental Assistant -- collects refuse, decontaminates natural areas. No social measures Even this short overview is enough to see that Aubry's project does not represent social measures to overcome the catastrophic unemployment which affects one in four French youth. Rather, these are security measures which are aimed at limiting the public-order consequences of mass unemployment. Not a single one of these new jobs offer any prospects for the future. They are not combined with education leading to any sort of qualification and are without exception to be paid at the legal minimum wage, i.e. the lowest possible rate. They serve to habituate youth to working for starvation wages. Most of those affected will be back on the streets when the finances run out in five years time. They will then be in their early 30s, at an age with family responsibilities and when a secure income is most needed. The costs for this plan are put at about 10 billion francs a year (about [[sterling]]1 billion), which is quite small when compared to the 45FFr billion the Juppé government spent each year on job creation schemes. The money will largely to be found by redirecting existing finances. However, the government has made clear that they will remain on target for reducing state expenditure so as to meet the Maastricht criteria for European Monetary Union. Nevertheless, the government's plan has come across criticism. Economic circles fear that the scheme will delay the slashing of relatively high public employment levels, which they regard as extremely urgent. Whereas in Britain every seventh person receives their income from the state, and in Germany every sixth, in France it is every fourth. President Chirac has warned that the plan must not lead "to the massive creation of permanent jobs in the public service". He has, however, expressed his fundamental agreement with the plan: "One can only agree with the conceptions which lie behind this law," he said. "Youth employment should take priority over everything else." Ruling class need Jospin The reason for Chirac's conciliatory position is that the bourgeoisie does not want Jospin to lose face too quickly. His reputation was already dented when the state-controlled Renault company announced the closure of their Belgian factory at Vilvoorde, shortly after Jospin came into office. In March this year Jospin himself had headed a march in Brussels against the planned closure. A cut in child benefits for those on middle incomes had also unleashed nation-wide demonstrations in July. The ruling class in France has learned two things from the mass strike movement of November/December 1995: that they will not be able to push through the cuts required to meet the Maastricht criteria without provoking a massive reaction in the population, and that this reaction can get out of control if the Socialist and Communist Parties completely lose their influence. This is why they are leaving Jospin some room for manoeuvre, in order to gain time for the preparation of new forms of rule. Behind the scenes, there is an intense struggle taking place to re-establish the right wing. A wing of the Gaullists, lead by former Interior Minister Pasqua, is in favour of collaboration with the fascists Front National of Le Pen. They see this as the only way of ensuring the right get back into government. Inside the Front National itself there is a power-struggle between Le Pen and his deputy Megret. While Le Pen is a bully of the old school, Megret wants to clean up the public face of the Front and open the way for alliances with other bourgeois parties, along the lines of the Italian fascist leader Fini.

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