Book contents
- Contested Liberalization
- Contested Liberalization
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- 1 Three Legacies of Dirigisme
- 2 From the Dirigiste State to the Social Anesthesia State
- 3 Liberalization without Liberals
- 4 Skinny Politics
- 5 Jupiter’s Limits
- 6 Rinse and Repeat
- 7 “Whatever It Costs”
- 8 Beyond Contestation
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
5 - Jupiter’s Limits
From Initial Achievements to the Yellow Vest Crisis
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 April 2023
- Contested Liberalization
- Contested Liberalization
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- 1 Three Legacies of Dirigisme
- 2 From the Dirigiste State to the Social Anesthesia State
- 3 Liberalization without Liberals
- 4 Skinny Politics
- 5 Jupiter’s Limits
- 6 Rinse and Repeat
- 7 “Whatever It Costs”
- 8 Beyond Contestation
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Chapter 5 applies the argument of this book to the beginning of the Macron presidency. Initially, Macron implemented a series of liberalizing reforms, notably of taxation, collective bargaining, and the national railways, often over the opposition of strikers and demonstrators. However, after just eighteen months in office, simmering resentment erupted into the so-called yellow vest protests, a movement against higher gasoline taxes that spiraled into a broader contestation of the government itself. Chapter 5 shows that both the social anesthesia state and skinny politics contributed to the yellow vest movement. In a context of scarce fiscal resources due to the social anesthesia state, Macron’s desire to bolster French business through tax cuts while reducing France’s budget deficit necessarily entailed tax increases and cutbacks in public and social services for the general population. Further fueling contestation, Macron adopted an extreme form of skinny politics, disdaining negotiations with political elites and the social partners, and imposing reforms from above. The combination of unpopular reform, much of it liberal in nature, and skinny politics sparked the yellow vest protests. In the end, the yellow vests forced Macron to backtrack from his agenda, sent his approval ratings plummeting, and weakened his capacity to govern.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Contested LiberalizationHistorical Legacies and Contemporary Conflict in France, pp. 169 - 196Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023