Francois Mitterrand is the 21st President of France and at the same time the 4th President of the Fifth Republic, founded by Charles de Gaulle. His leadership of the country turned out to be the longest in the history of the Fifth Republic and at the same time the most controversial when the political pendulum moved from socialism to a liberal structure.
Birth and years of study
At a time when Europe was still burning in World War I, in 1916, October 26, the future president of France, François Mitterrand, was born in the town of Zharnak. According to him, he was born "in a very religious Catholic" family. His father was J. Mitterrand, and his mother was I. Lorrain. He was in his native Zharnak until the age of 9, he received his primary education here, and then went to Saint-Paul, a boarding college in Angumel. This place was a private Catholic privileged educational institution, after which he became a bachelor of philosophy.
At the age of 18, François Mitterrand went to Paris to continue his studies. There he entered the Sorbonne, where he studied science until 1938. After completion, he received three more diplomas: on the graduation of the philological and law faculties of the Sorbonne University, as well as the School of Political Sciences. This completes the training, and adulthood begins, but even then the gift of diplomacy and foresight was visible in it, the future president of Mitterrand Francois was already visible in it. Politics didn’t attract him, he lived with it and enthusiastically welcomed the coming to power of the Popular Front in 1936.
Military service and World War II in the life of Francois Mitterrand
In the spring of 1938, François was drafted into the army. He began his service in the 23rd Colonial Infantry Regiment. After the Germans unleashed World War II, he was moved to the Sedan area. In June 1940, during the capture of Paris by the Wehrmacht, Francois Mitterrand was seriously injured by fragments of mines. Miraculously, he managed to be taken out of already defeated Paris, but soon Francois Mitterrand was captured. Three escape attempts were made, and in the winter of 1941 he finally managed to get into the wild and immediately join the Resistance movement. There he received the pseudonym "Captain Morlan."
In the years 1942-1943, Francois was an active prisoner of war. He even founded an organization and an underground patriotic union. At the end of 1943, the first meeting with Charles de Gaulle took place. Perhaps you somehow establish a correspondence between them. Francois Mitterrand, however, unlike de Gaulle, was a young socialist politician who, from the very first meeting, went into conflict with him and openly disagreed with his views. In 1944 he was an activist of the liberation of France and a participant in the Paris uprising.
Political activity in the postwar years
After the collapse of fascist Germany, Francois Mitterrand began to actively intervene in the state apparatus of the French Republic. He held more than ten ministerial posts, and also became the leader of the UDSR party. He pursued an anti-fascist course and publicly condemned the policy and excessive power of Charles de Gaulle, and even wrote a book about him.
The fight for the presidency
The turning point in his political career was 1965. During this period, his biography changed. Francois Mitterrand first participated in the presidential election. However, in the second round he was defeated, and de Gaulle was re-elected president for the second term. He continued to lead opposition activities at the head of the created federation of left forces. In 1974, fate reminded him of 1965 - he lost to Valerie Giscard d'Estaing in the second round. His time had not yet come.
All this period he did not waste time in vain: he worked on himself, looked for other methods and created new political alliances, actively carried out agitation, both hidden and open. In general, his already advanced age was not a hindrance. Indeed, at that time (1974) he was already about 60 years old, and he was just beginning to enjoy political victories, but he was not particularly upset by defeats. Therefore, for the subsequent elections of 1981, he began to prepare more than ever.
4th President of the Fifth Republic
In 1981, in January, at a congress of the FSP (French Socialist Party), he was unanimously nominated as a presidential candidate in the new election. It was his finest hour. Francois Mitterrand became the 4th President of the Fifth Republic, whose domestic and foreign policy even received a special name - “Mitteranism”. The difference between the activities of Francois from other presidents was that, being an ardent anti-communist, he relied on them in every way in his policy and more than once made his allies.
Domestic policy
In the state administration received, François Mitterrand began to carry out social reforms. His government worked to reduce the working week, lower the retirement age, and decentralize power. Under Mitterrand, the powers of the local authorities were expanded, and thereby “untied hands” in resolving many issues. This is the same question that haunted him during the reign of de Gaulle, and Mitterrand often criticized him for excessive power in the hands of one person. In addition, the death penalty was abolished. France in this matter has become the last of all Western European countries. However, since 1984, the government was forced to switch to austerity measures and curtail social reforms.
Since 1986, the so-called period began. “Coexistence” when the left president acted along with the right leader of the government, which turned out to be Jacques Chirac.
In 1988, François Mitterrand was re-elected. His domestic policy remained unchanged: he supported the Communists, negotiated with the right-wing forces and at the same time did not disregard the left, which characterizes him as a skilled and far-sighted politician with rich experience in this field.
Foreign policy of Francois Mitterrand
Almost all the years of the presidency, he was forced to share power with the right-wing prime ministers. Mitterrand’s foreign policy also presented the idea of ​​maneuvering between left and right forces. He particularly advocated for strengthening relations with the United States, Germany, and then with a united Germany and, of course, with Russia. Francois Mitterrand was one of the first to support Boris Yeltsin during the Emergency Committee. But even before the events of August 1991, he actively interacted with the Soviet Union. In addition, François advocated expanding cooperation with African states.
In 1981, François Mitterrand won a major victory - he became president of France, but that same year presented him with another “surprise” - he was diagnosed with oncology. All the years of his reign, he passed along with prostate cancer. Mitterrand fought to the last. In 1995, his second term in office ended, and on Christmas, he and his family managed to visit Egypt. But already on January 8, 1996, at the 79th year of his life, the 21st President of France, François Mitterrand, went to another world. He carried an interest in politics and love for his homeland through his far from short life.