Word: mitterrand
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...opposition prudently has avoided exploiting the scattered disorders. Former Premier Raymond Barre warned his supporters not to "fan the flames." Neo-Gaullist Leader and Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac broke a long silence to warn against "an agitation that is dangerous for the social and political equilibrium of the country." Mitterrand need not call new legislative elections until 1986, and the next presidential election is scheduled for 1988. Said an official of Chirac's Rassemblement pour la Republique: "We could put a million people on the Champs-Elysees, but what good would that...
Nonetheless, profound disagreements remain, most notably on how to deal with gyrating currency values that have disrupted trade and investment patterns. In a speech at the Elysee Palace, French President François Mitterrand, whose government has been shaken for two years by the falling franc, argued for an overhaul of the international monetary system to bring about more stable exchange rates. Nothing so ambitious has been tried since 1944, when representatives of 44 nations met in Bretton Woods, N.H., and established a worldwide system of fixed exchange rates that endured for nearly 30 years (see box). Said Mitterrand...
Delegates from other countries greeted Mitterrand's proposal with polite skepticism. The U.S., in particular, remains a staunch opponent of systematic intervention in exchange markets...
France is the furthest out of sync with other industrial nations. When Mitterrand's Socialist government came to power in 1981, it made the mistake of stimulating the French economy at a time when other nations were fighting inflation. As a result, the value of the franc began to fall, plunging 34% against the dollar during the past two years. That drop made France's imports more costly and thus worsened its inflation, now running at 9%. The French have gone heavily into debt trying to defend the franc in the currency markets, and last week they...
France's financial woes have damaged Mitterrand politically, and his call for a new Bretton Woods conference is, in part, an attempt to shift the blame for his problems to the system of floating exchange rates. But while Mitterrand's concerns about unstable currencies may be somewhat self-serving, they are shared by a growing number of prominent people. In recent weeks, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker, Investment Banker Felix Rohatyn and former West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt have all talked of the need to dampen the swings in currency values. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger...