The Programme commun was a reform programme, signed 27 June 1972 by the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

, the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

and the centrist Radical Movement of the Left, which provided a great upheaval in the economic, political and military fields in France. That alliance, known as the "Union of the Left", opened a political repositioning for the left that lasted 30 years, contributing particularly to the election of

François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...

in the presidential election of 1981. Between 1981 and 1983, he began putting ''Programme commun'' into action. The

Keynesian Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output an ...

-inspired policies led to an increase in the

fiscal deficit The government budget balance, also referred to as the general government balance, public budget balance, or public fiscal balance, is the difference between government revenues and spending. For a government that uses accrual accounting ( ...

and the

trade deficit Balance of trade is the difference between the monetary value of a nation's exports and imports of goods over a certain time period. Sometimes, trade in services is also included in the balance of trade but the official IMF definition only consi ...

. To keep France in the

European Monetary System The European Monetary System (EMS) was a multilateral adjustable exchange rate agreement in which most of the nations of the European Economic Community (EEC) linked their currencies to prevent large fluctuations in relative value. It was initi ...

, a different approach was needed. In March 1983, Mitterrand did a

U-turn A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180° rotation to reverse the direction of travel. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the U, letter U. In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others, it is treated as ...

by cancelling the parts of ''Programme commun'' that had been already passed, which was sometimes referred to as the "austerity turn".

Projects

* "Living better, changing lives": Reduction of

working hours Working time or laboring time is the period of time that a person spends at paid labor. Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week. Many countries regulate the work wee ...

(down to 40 hours per week), higher wages,

social security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

expansion, socialised housing. * Compensated

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

of major industrial companies in the key sectors, of 38 banks and financial institutions, increased

market regulation Regulatory economics is the application of law by government or regulatory agencies for various economics-related purposes, including remedying market failure, Environmental law, protecting the environment and economic management. Regulation Re ...

, worker participation in company decisions. *

Decentralisation Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...

and "democratisation" of government institutions, guarantee of individual liberties, restriction of police custody. * Fight against

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

. * "Politics of peace": Abolishing

nuclear deterrent Nuclear strategy involves the development of doctrines and strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons. As a sub-branch of military strategy, nuclear strategy attempts to match nuclear weapons as means to political ends. In addit ...

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

reduction to 6 months, dissolution of both

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

. * Education reform.

References

{{French Communist Party History of the French Communist Party Party platforms History of the Socialist Party (France) 1972 documents 1972 in France Reform in France 1972 in politics 1972 in economic history