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That said, there is still plenty of the old France to go around, and then some. One of the most important hurdles to further French development is the size and conservatism of the bloated public-sector work force, which sees any change as a threat to its status and privileges. Among the perks enjoyed by civil servants: guaranteed job security, early retirement and proportionally higher pensions than those of private-sector employees. Another, related challenge is the near impossibility of reforming state institutions. Recent attempts to rejigger the antiquated tax-collection and school systems were blocked by striking civil servants and their powerful unions, costing two ministers their jobs and probably ending all serious reform attempts until the 2002 presidential election, in which Jospin is expected to square off against Chirac. But the need for reform is urgent. Unless the public sector is trimmed and the national pension system modified, for example, the country will face a nasty financial crunch in coming decades.
In at least one area, reform of the state seems imminent: reduction of the presidential term from seven to five years. The idea has been gestating for decades, but France's three recent experiences with "cohabitation"--the awkward sharing of power between a President of one party and a Prime Minister of another--have persuaded Jospin and Chirac to push for a revision of the Fifth Republic's constitution. The proposed reform, which could be approved by referendum later this year, would make the presidential term coincide with that of the parliament. This would presumably reduce the likelihood of cohabitation, since the elections would probably be held on or near the same date, and it would be unlikely, but not impossible, for French voters to choose a President and a parliamentary majority from different political families simultaneously. But it could also transform the monarchical-style presidency envisioned by De Gaulle into that with a chief executive more like a U.S. President. Thus, politically, as well as socially and economically, France seems to be moving in a more American direction--without ever admitting to it.
So is France truly on a new course? Socialists like Henri Weber, a senator and a respected party theorist, point to the reforms that the Jospin government has already carried out--including a law recognizing unmarried couples and a requirement that parties field equal numbers of male and female political candidates--to argue that evolutionary change is possible. Skeptics say Jospin has merely done the easy stuff while skipping the tough state reforms. And in the back of every mind is the French revolutionary tradition that has proved time and again that leaders who try to ride roughshod over an angry populace do so at their peril.