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1994-05-09
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<text>
<title>
French leaders comment on GATT
</title>
<article>
<hdr>
Foreign Broadcast Information Service, December 17, 1993
French leaders comment on GATT
</hdr>
<body>
<p> [Unattributed article on statements about GATT by three
leading French politicians: "What They Have Said]
</p>
<p> [Text]
</p>
<p> Giscard: "Putting France Back on Its Feet"
</p>
<p> Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the president of the UDF [Union
for French Democracy], yesterday congratulated the government
for having "solidly defended the interests" of France in the
GATT negotiations, and replied to the question of confidence put
by Prime Minister Edouard Balladur by saying "'yes' to getting
France back on its feet again."
</p>
<p> "You are perhaps expecting me to specify the 'yes' that the
UDF will support you with. I shall not specify it. I shall
complement it. We are saying 'yes,' prime minister, to getting
France back on its feet again," said Mr. Giscard d'Estaing, who
addressed the National Assembly on behalf of the UDF during the
general political debate.
</p>
<p> Previously, this former president of the Republic had
underlined that "France has never had as many unemployed," and
expressed anxiety at the fact that this number would "continue to
rise."
</p>
<p> Regarding the GATT negotiations, he once again stated some
reservations on the agricultural chapter, affirming that "the
Blair House agreement, which was badly negotiated (...) cast a
shadow which hung over the entire negotiation process."
</p>
<p> "The UDF cannot say that the agreement is good, for we have
fought against the Blair House agreement, but we can say that
the government noticeably improved it," stressed Mr. Giscard
d'Estaing. He once again called for the organization "of a
national agricultural conference with a view to specifically
evaluating the fallout (...) of the GATT agreement," and asked
the prime minister "to table a bill for the spring session [of
the French parliament] on the adaptation and promotion of
agriculture and the rural environment, which had become (...)
indispensable for giving our agricultural sector some hope."
</p>
<p> On the subject of the French attitude during the GATT
negotiations, Mr. d'Estaing stated that: "The UDF group approves
of the fact that a global agreement proved possible, confirming
France's position in the commercial world. It congratulates the
government for having solidly defended the interests of our
country. It also approves the fact that you took account of the
need for European solidarity. We shall ensure that this latter
lesson is not forgotten tomorrow, when European Monetary Union
[EMU] is to be achieved within the planned deadline."
</p>
<p> Fabius: "We shall Clearly Vote 'No'"
</p>
<p> Laurent Fabius, speaker for the Socialist group in the
debate preceding the vote of confidence in the government, said
that "the response of the Socialists will be a clear 'no,'" for
"we have no confidence in either the directions in which your
action is leading or in its results."
</p>
<p> Regarding GATT, Mr. Fabius aimed his address at Prime
Minister Edouard Balladur: "You are asking us to agree on
everything without our having any effective guarantees about
anything." At the same time, he was ironic about "the
media-related and political performance of Mr. Balladur, which
consisted of obtaining extensive support on the basis of rather
unsubstantial results."
</p>
<p> The former prime minister noted that "none of us here today
knows the text of the agreement," and added that four
fundamental questions still had to be answered: "Has the decline
in exports vanished--yes or no? The answer is no. Will
labor-intensive industry have the same prospects and degree of
protection in France as elsewhere in the world--yes or no? The
answer is no. Has the United States undertaken to abolish its
instruments of commercial retaliation, or has Europe armed
itself with equivalent instruments? The answer is no. Finally,
does the organization of world trade prohibit all forms of
dumping, both social and economic? The answer is no."
</p>
<p> Going on to the program of reforms announced by the prime
minister for 1994, Mr. Fabius affirmed that the socialists would
not place their "confidence in a government which is failing on
the employment front."
</p>
<p> Finally, alluding to the adoption "under shocking
circumstances" of the amended text of the Falloux Act in the
Senate on Tuesday [14 December], Mr. Fabius repeated: "We will
never place our confidence in a government which is rekindling
the war on education."
</p>
<p> Chirac: "Intensive Diplomatic Work"
</p>
<p> Yesterday, Jacques Chirac saluted "the satisfying results"
obtained thanks to French diplomacy "under the leadership of the
prime minister" in the GATT negotiations, and "naturally"
expressed "the support of the RPR [Rally for the Republic] for
Edouard Balladur."
</p>
<p> While saluting the "intensive diplomatic work" and the
firmness of Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, the president of the
RPR highlighted "the undeniable gains" made during the
negotiations. "Much will depend on our vigilance in applying
texts which are in many cases complex or even inexplicit," he
said.
</p>
<p>Speaking on behalf of the group in the debate in the National
Assembly, this former prime minister called for a guideline law
on agriculture which would be capable of "reestablishing the
confidence of farmers who have no ambition to live off aid, and
have to find the justification for their income in their work."
This law "would define the conditions for practicing the farming
profession, especially by lowering costs, so that our production
remains competitive tomorrow on the international markets," said
Mr. Chirac who believes that "the France of tomorrow will need a
strong, dynamic agricultural sector," especially in the face of
the food challenge. The president of the RPR said he was "happy"
that culture, which "is not a commodity," had been "excluded
from the GATT negotiations."
</p>
<p> Arguing in favor of the "community preference," he deemed
it "essential to correct the drifts" of the Community
institutions, reaffirming that it was up to the Council of
Ministers, not the Commission "to decide who is acting in the
interests of the European Union."
</p>
<p> Jacques Chirac justified "the firmness," or even
"intransigence," of the majority during the negotiation, which
are "always a trial of strength in which otherworldliness does
not pay." In his eyes, "thanks to the support" of the majority,
"today, that the government will find all the desirable
determination to monitor the implementation of the GATT
agreement."
</p>
</body>
</article>
</text>