Abstract
On 25 March, 1957, six founders - France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg - signed the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Economic Community (EEC), a common market with free movement of goods, capital, labor and services. In this paper, we will try to understand the position of France which insisted on adding some social policies, as the EC treaty was very economical in nature. This French motivation was closely linked to its political and social context as well as economic and competitiveness issues.
During the years following the end of the Second World War, majority of the French population considered economic liberalism had done more harm than good to be the need of the hour keeping in mind the 1929 crisis. For them, liberalism was not efficient enough to restore the ruined economy. It seemed that the intervention of the State was indispensable to reconstruct and to raise the production in France.
A new social organization went up: in February 1945, de Gaulle instituted the works council for companies with more than 50 employees. In January 1946, civil servants benefited from a new measure that set up recruitment and compensation rules. Also, from October 1945 until January1948, a certain number of decisions and redrafts concerning the creation of Social security, family allowance, retirement and insurance institutions was created.
Extract
[...] Otherwise France softened its demand for social equalization. Bibliography: - Pour une Europe citoyenneetsolidaire. - L'Europe des traitésdans la vie quotidienne. Ines Trepant, edition "de boeck". - Europe recast - Desmond Dinan - Equal treatment of men and woman - Mr. Jason Nickless - La politquesociale du Général De Gaulle - OdileRudelle. Vingtième Siècle, Revue d'histoire 1990. [...]
[...] Three of the six states had signed the ILO convention on equal pay. Those who had signed were worried that the three who had not would be able to gain a competitive advantage over them by paying their female workers less than their male ones. Discriminatory pay would reduce production costs and make goods cheaper. France was particularly concerned about very wide differentiation of wages in the textile industry in the Netherlands. The free movement of goods would mean that Dutch textiles, which were cheaper due to discriminatory pay, would be able to compete better with French materials on the French market. [...]
[...] During the years following the end of the second war world most of the French population considered that the economic liberalism was overtaken. They kept in mind the 1929 crisis. For them liberalism was not efficient enough to restore the ruin economy. It seemed that the intervention of the State was indispensable to reconstruct and to raise the production in France. A new social organisation went up: in February 1945, de Gaulle instituted the works council for companies with more then 50 employees. In January 1946 civil servants benefit from a new measure that sets up recruitment and compensation rules. [...]
[...] The question of social policies is for de Gaulle very link to the second war world and also the Cold war. For him social policy reflects to the dignity and security, which should characterised a citizen in a free democracy This situation of France is one of the reasons why France was the State that pushed to introduce what will become thedirective 129/75 of the EC Treaty in 1957. But this socialist context is not the only reason, economic interests is also a source of it? [...]
