PARIS — A militant sheep farmer vandalizes McDonald's as a symbol of globalism. Thousands of marchers, led by the Communist Party chief, protest layoffs in a city dubbed the "capital of the resistance" to globalization.
It might seem that the French are having a hard time adjusting to modern economic times. But beneath the noise, France, one of the world's largest economies, is quietly adapting--defying perceptions of a nation fixated on its past and reluctant to change.
The French government has slowly rolled back business regulations in recent years, helping to fuel an economic boom. Foreign investment in France has soared, and unemployment has dropped to its lowest level in a decade. France is leading a drive toward greater economic unity in Europe.
France remains highly regulated by U. S. standards. The government is a major investor in its aerospace industry and is expected to play an active role in protecting workers from the vagaries of the world economy. Many French still hanker for the days when the government coddled them.
But traditions are fading. Balancing old ideals with the demands of globalization is proving a delicate act for Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who was elected four years ago in part by promising to turn around France's chronically high joblessness.
The dilemma came sharply into focus during a recent wave of protests, sparked by thousands of layoffs at companies such as French food giant Groupe Danone and British retailer Marks & Spencer.
At least 15,000 people marched outside a Danone cookie factory marked for closure in northern France. The Socialists could not ignore the outcry, since some of the loudest calls came from their coalition partner, the Communist Party.
Jospin and his team quickly cobbled together proposals to calm the workers and paint a picture of compassionate government. They included a plan to double severance pay for laid-off workers, and to encourage retraining and redevelopment of abandoned industrial sites.
The proposals were slammed by unions for not going far enough, while the head of the largest employers' group, Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, said they were "old, archaic recipes pulled out to give the appearance" of solving a problem.
So far, so French, one might think.
But while the government's rhetoric may appear rooted in the kind of socialist ideology that has vanished in most industrialized nations, the reality is different.
