The Union pour un Mouvement Populaire VS The Parti Socialiste

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The Union pour un Mouvement Populaire

VS

The Parti Socialiste

Ibtissam Dahbi Skali

Supervised by:

 Dr. Djalil Lounnas

PSC 2301 03

May 5, 2015

The French political party, which is also perceived as a classic of democracy, may appear be ambiguous and difficult to track. We can say that the voters are more attracted to the extremist parties such as the UMP or PS, since these two parties are the ones that most won the presidential elections. Other minority parties appear and disappear regularly, lasting a period of time variable to one another, without leaving noticeable traces, although the surprising popularity of the National Front might be difficult to ignore.

This paper aim to provide partial analysis regarding the following:

I) Partial contrast the two most famous French political parties, which are The “Union pour un Mouvement Populaire” and The “Parti Socialiste”, based on recent economic, social, and internal events.

II) Present a theory that might resolve the problematics of both parties, which features the creation of a council of “National Unity”, where transparency might be a determinant factor of success.

1. Contrast

1. Economic

How do they manage the economic growth?

UMP:

One of the major strengths of the UMP is how they benefit economic growth as a hole. Being a capitalist system, they believe that everybody should have what they deserve. In other world, your job is the primary determinant of what you possess and what you will earn. Following this strategy, people would absolutely work in order to afford their needs and wants, hence, surviving in this system. The concept of work becomes deep and broad, while its priority becomes clear to the population.  Thus, companies and enterprises will maximize growth by enlarging their fixed capital and exploiting the human capital growth, which are two primordial factors that enable a sustainable growth. On the other hand, employment will be stimulated by all these new job opportunities that investments can procure.

A good example would be the realization of the great commercial aviation project Airbus by the French government with ump majority. This project enabled France and Germany to compete with the American Boing, in addition to an important enhancement of the Aeronautic in both European countries. According to airbus.com, Airbus France exports are more than 20 billion euros and their French employees are 54000, which represent 37% of the total workers of the entity.^[1]

PS:

The socialist party, on the other hand tend to stimulate the economic growth by ameliorating as much as possible the working conditions. Offering employees a good climate by increasing their social benefits is a good incentive to maximize their productivity. Therefore, when the productivity increases, the economy is automatically boosted. Bad working condition may lead to depression, and according to …, research have proved that depression is an explanatory factor of productivity loss.^[2]

1. How do they deal with taxation and market regulations?

UMP:

The free market also give its advantages. The most important advantage is that people have the power to choose, relying on their own entrepreneurial skills and abilities, in addition to the management of their personal income. The government role in regulating the market is limited to assess the ethics of transactions and tradeoffs.

The taxation plays an important role in this matter, the lower the taxes, the greater the investment incentives and willingness to join the labor force.  According to economicshelp.org, tax cuts will attract new market entrants and international investors, in addition to increase in the government revenue in the long run, by an increased production and productivity.^[3] According to Adam smith, only work is the real source of wealth, so more work means more development and prosperity.^[4]

One of the UMP’s latest projects concerns lowering the taxes and charges on wealth. According to the ex-president Sarkozy, the enterprise must be “the center of all government’s economic decisions” because “the enterprise is the one that creates jobs and produce wealth”. The president of the UMP stressed the huge difference between France and Germany in taxation: “We pay 150 million more than German people”.^[5]

On the other hand, the “Union pour un Mouvement Populaire” has its own weaknesses.

This free market economy transform the society into a consumer society, where capitalist entities tries to maximize their profits and, at the same time, minimizing their costs. In a likewise society, the danger of a collapse due to a diminishment in sales, for example, is permanently present, especially in a time of economic crisis.

Their complete reliance on the financial market might be the most degrading one. With a free market, the social expenditures might fluctuate unexpectedly, driving the country to borrow money in order to assure the payments of its citizens. This debt has reached more than 2 trillion Euros, according to France debt clock, which constitutes 95% of the country’s whole gross domestic product.^[6]

     PS:

On the contrary, the Socialist Party follows a contradictory strategy. The socialist party is very strict concerning the market regulation. Keeping daily track on the labor laws, oversight, taxation, etc. their objectives are to offer better life conditions for the society by setting prices that the majority can afford. Medicines and drugs are examples of products where the government can intervene to help pour people that cannot afford medicines.

A good example in the same field is the new law of the “Tiers Payant”, a medical facility that will remove the obligation of patients to pay their medical consultation. Doctors would be directly remunerated by the social security. According to Marisol Touraine, minister of social affairs, health and women’s rights, the “tiers payant” is a justice measure that favors the access to medical assistance for pour and modest people.^[7]

Another positive point concerning the socialist party is their strategic redistribution of wealth. The equality of rights is one of their most important principal, so that a pour, as a rich, can have its own chances in life.

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