Word: franc
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Mitterrand must have been the only tranquil man in France last week in the wake of his stunning victory. That event had sent thousands of his jubilant supporters into the streets of Paris, singing, dancing and honking car horns to celebrate what some pundits were calling the second French Revolution. But on the Paris stock market, prices plunged and the franc hit a twelve-year low as investors paled at the prospect of Mitterrand's sweeping nationalization and economic reform plans. The major political parties began gearing up for a decisive parliamentary election that could lead to either...
...communications and aerospace, Mitterrand's program calls for the creation of 210,000 public sector jobs, a higher minimum wage, tax hikes for the wealthy and a 35-hour work week. Critics see this as a guarantee of more inflation, more balance of payments deficits and a weaker franc...
...many observers, Mitterrand's own formula for economic reform seems sweeping enough. Blaming Giscard's free-enterprise approach for France's record unemployment of 1.7 million (7.2%), Mitterrand campaigned doggedly on the promise of "another policy." Among other things, it calls for: 1) nationalization of the country's remaining private banks and eleven major industrial enterprises; 2) creation of 1,560,000 jobs, mostly through increased public hiring and a reduction of the work week to 35 hours; and 3) an immediate 25% raise in the minimum wage, to $3.60 an hour. Many French economists view...
...economy was another question. "Given France's problems and limits, Giscard probably has done as well with it as anyone could," says Hoffmann in a judgment that is widely shared by foreign observers. Yet Giscard faltered at the start. For the first 27 months of his term, the government failed to react adequately to quadrupled international oil prices. Resorting to classic pump-priming methods, it fueled inflation while the franc weakened. The President then turned to hard-nosed Premier Barre, a decision that has been described as "the best Giscard has made in seven years...
...year low of 2.16 to the dollar, forcing the West German Bundesbank and the U.S. Federal Reserve into an unusual rescue mission of the mark. The two central banks each sold $500 million in dollars at midweek to prop up the weakening West German currency. In Zurich, the Swiss franc dropped into a two-year trough of 1.95 to the dollar, and in Milan the Italian lira plunged to a record low of 1,019 against the dollar. At the same time, the declining value of gold pushed bullion to $500.50 an ounce at week...