Twilight at the Elysee?

As usual it is the restive French youth, who are in the forefront of the current crisis. It has been triggered by the hurried decision of French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin that allows the government to sack young recruits without giving them an opportunity to find alternative employment. Indeed deep down there is the worry among the youth of lack of jobs as the job market gets tighter.

President Jacques Chirac backed up his Prime Minister to the hilt and signed the bill into law. He then went before nation wide audience and in a TV address defended the action of the prime minister. For he also said that he would bring about important changes in the new law. That was for the ears of the thousands of demonstrators, who were pouring into the streets of Paris and throughout France. It was evident that the highest authority in France was suffering from indecision.

It is well known that Dominique de Villepin is the "dauphin" (chosen successor) of Jacques Chirac, whose term expires in about a year. Tugging at the heels of Chirac is the Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy and the relations between Chirac and Sarkozy are frosty. Faced with the youth and the labour unrest , Sarkozy has fallen in line with Chirac-Villepin.

The way the drama is unfolding in Paris it is clear that the twilight has come to the Elysee before time. This is reminiscent of 1968 when barricades were erected in Paris by the student community, which ultimately led to the downfall of the regime of Charles de Gaulle. Of course nobody would wish to compare De Gaulle with his successors. Indeed personalities like De Gaulle leave no successor. We need not go far to find a similar situation. After the assassination of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family, the Bangalee Nation has been floundering for the last 33 years.

Yet thanks to the forceful personality of De Gaulle that the political system that he built tailor made for him has survived nearly half a century. We may recall that before De Gaulle took charge of his beloved France, there used to be veritable musical chairs and governments came and went, unmourned, unsung.

The sixth Republic of De Gaulle, has it run its course? This thought cannot be put aside as the current crisis continues to unfold. The highest trade union (CGT) has thrown in a challenge to President Chirac that it will compel the government to cancel the new First Employment Contract. From the unemployed students the movement has been virtually taken over by the powerful Labour Union. They are planning a massive strike through which they plan to paralyze rail, air and virtually all modes of transport.

From what looked like an innocent beginning of some unemployed youth demonstrating in the Place de la Republique, after nearly a month the crisis has gone on growing larger and larger. Although some labour unrest has been reported from neighbours of France, the current crisis seems to be a purely French affair. People of France offered the world the Grand Revolution in 1789 triggering a transformation of the map of Europe.

Once again the French are out in the streets. It would be unwise to characterise this as jockeying for the Elysee Palace.

Arshad-uz-Zaman is a former Ambassador.