Documents found
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735.More information
SummaryAs a basis for reflection on the social issues which have surfaced in relation to Quebec's policy on day care, this paper presents the context that gave rise to this policy, the type of development undergone by the policy in the last decade, and the struggles which have taken place on various levels in relation to the policy. It can be seen, by means of these; indicators, that the Quebec day care policy as called for by citizens' groups during the 1970s conceals basic economic issues in that it brings into question the very foundations of Quebec capitalist society, by setting up a new mode iii the social reproduction of children.
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738.More information
In their original forms, federal language policy and Quebec's Bill 101 stand in stark contrast to each other. The former embraces the personality principle, individual rights to language and linguistic equality; the latter, collective rights, territoriality and the priority of the French language. In the past twenty years, both policies have evolved, with the result that there are several parallels in practice which indicates that they are ultimately compatible in effect. In this context, I argue that the prospects for the mutual coexistence of the two policies in their present form are more favourable than some critics would suggest.
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739.More information
In the two electoral campaigns held in France in the spring of 1981, parties and their candidates gave only limited importance to foreign policy. They showed some interest during the presidential campaign but very little during the legislative elections. This relative silence can be explained by the fact that the French are in rather wide-spread agreement as to the over-all orientation of foreign policy as defined in the 1960s by General de Gaulle and as adapted subsequently by his successors. Clearly, economic and social questions dominated the electoral discussions.Valery Giscard d'Estaing defended his seven-year record; his opponents in the outgoing majority and on the left sharply contested it. Without abandoning a critical position, François Mitterand tried to reassure the French by showing them that his coming to power would not upset the foundations of foreign policy and that changes would be more important in other areas. A thematic study of arguments used during the electoral campaign shows that Valery Giscard d'Estaing's opponents forcefully reproached his overall conception of foreign policy defined by "globalism" and his attitute toward the USSR following the invasion of Afghanistan. The meeting between the French president and Leonid Brejnev in Warsaw was at the heart of the polemic. Even if weak arguments were used in other areas of foreign policy, international problems did in the end play a significant role in challenging the credibility of the outgoing president. Foreign policy became a tool used for electoral purposes. The electoral campaign was characterized as well by the involvement of pressure groups, notably Jewish organizations discontent with French policy toward the Middle East and by the active support of the Socialist International in favor of François Mitterand. On the whole, the electoral campaign emphasized continuity more than change. It is useful to be aware of these positions in order to understand France s foreign activities under its socialist regime.