in the late 1930s, a child grows up in France with the culture and education of the average Frenchman,
i.e. no more chauvinist,
end nationalist
and no more patriots.
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this is the culture of the average Frenchman almost to this day
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the young man who goes by the name of François Maurice Adrian-Marie Mitterrand.
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studies political science at the Free University of Paris and receives his diploma in 1937.
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Kapaki joins the army while at the same time he meets the man who changes his worldview, the Jewish socialist Georges Dayan.
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Mitterrand, almost in love with socialist ideas and it is these that will become his beacon and guide.
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in 1939, he finishes his military service and manages to finish his law studies in Paris before the war breaks out.
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Thus, Mitterrand, with his antiquated constitution, goes to serve in the Maginot Line
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all the money the French had poured into this concrete line of polygons and trenches of many, many kilometres
and
Thus the technological development of the French army was left behind
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Instead, the Germans threw everything into innovation and new technologies and built an army with lightning speed.
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So,
while the French soldiers hid behind the concrete of the Maginot Line,
the Germans came through Belgium and occupied it and then they came in through the French border and occupied it from behind,
finally reaching the Maginot Line where they arrested many Frenchmen
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including Mitterrand, who was taken prisoner to Germany
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in 1941 escapes and returns to France
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Somewhere here we have a historical gap
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Mitterrand claims to have worked for the Vichy regime's prisoner committee and in 1943 joined the French resistance
But
some claimed that Mitterrand knew about the surrender of Jews to the Germans and the death that awaited them under the Vichy regime.
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was something that the opposition was hitting Mitterrand with, until the end of his life.
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After the liberation, he occupies various offices in the 4th French Republic
(Minister, Deputy Minister, State Secretary)
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But he was always accused by the right-wingers of being an agent of the communists in the cabinet
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in the referendum of ’58 he stood up to de Gaulle by supporting the NO vote (on constitutional change)
and loses
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in the early 1960s Mitterrand re-enters parliament and publicly declares that the only way to escape from the right is for all centre-leftists to unite.
That's going to be his plan from now on.
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in the 1965 elections, he manages to make it to the second round and loses to De Gaulle, winning the honorary 45%
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As soon as May ’68 ends and elections are held, the timeless disease strikes again
The centre-left is split and so De Gaulle is re-elected
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in 1971 François Mitterrand is elected first secretary of the Socialist Party of France
and
his first job is to begin contacts with the communists
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it didn't take him long,
only 10 years to manage to get support and
on
10 May 1981, François Mitterrand,
under the slogan «change»,
defeats the right-winger, Giscard d'Estaing, and is elected president of the French Republic
(reminds you of anything)
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and stood up to them, put four communists in ministerial positions
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but we said,
politics is the art of the possible and the communists don't understand this, so after a long time they withdraw their support
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but by now all of France had understood François Mitterrand, he is a great leader so they give him a second consecutive term
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How?;
but of all the good he had done
- made nationalizations,
- made 10% increase in the minimum wage
- introduced a 39-hour working week,
- established 5 weeks off per year,
- taxed the Croissants of the time and called it the “solidarity tax”,
- increased social benefits,
- the death penalty was abolished,
- the retirement age for workers was reduced to 60 from 65,
- implement the 1979 law that makes abortion legal
and - completely abolishes homosexuality as an offence
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That's the culture of the left, man.
and let them call him whatever they want
or centrist,
or a socialist,
or democratic,
or as you will tell him....
the mindset and culture,
of justice,
of equality,
of freedom,
of rights,
It's left.
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the daily life and living standards of the French people have changed radically
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but his greatest achievement was a united Europe
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It was he who, with his authority and contacts, managed to get the Maastricht Treaty signed.
and make the idea of a united Europe a reality
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don't look at what the united europe has become.... it's not his fault
“the ship” but the captains who later steered the ship
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France's old enemy, Germany, thanks to the great François Mitterrand,
is no longer an enemy but a friend and partner for a strong Europe of the peoples
(I repeat, don't look at what he has become, look at what Mitterrand has overcome and what he has achieved)
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François Mitterrand, died today 8 January 1996 at the age of 79
and in my opinion he is the greatest politician in the history of France, not to mention Europe.
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PS. to us Greeks he is remembered as the “best friend” of Andreas who together they achieved a lot
in 1984 Mitterrand asks Andrea to mediate to extinguish the conflict with Gaddafi, which is on the verge of war...
Andreas arranges a meeting between Gaddafi and Mitterrand in Elounda,
does his magic
and manages to get them to settle on “the Elounda deal”.
