Pierre
Genevier
53 Rue de l’Amiral Mouchez
75013 Paris
France
MM. President and Government Chief of G8 Countries
(except France)
MM. Secretaries-General of United Nations, OECD, and
Executive-Secretary of CIS
Mrs. and MM. Directors General, Managing Director, and
Presidents of Specialized Agencies or Organizations
Paris,
June 23, 1999
Dear
MM. Presidents and Government Chiefs,
Dear
MM. Secretaries-General and Executive-Secretary,
Dear
Mrs. and MM. Directors General, Managing Director, and Presidents,
I
presented you, or your administrations or organizations a project proposal
which concerns the major international organizations. The interest showed was strong but the nature of the project
requires to have a large consensus.
Since
I made the research, wrote the proposal, and defended it in front of your
experts, I feel that I share a part of the responsibility in the outcome and
question myself regularly on the quality of my arguing. I have tried to present the benefits of the
project as well as I possibly could but, if many experts around the world have
responded in a positive manner, I have failed to obtain a wide support in my
own country of citizenship, France.
Instead
of presenting you again the positive aspects of the proposal, I would like to
try to explain what I believe to be the reason for this failure because it is
significant of a serious problem that France faces for more than 14 years. The unemployment level in France has reached
a double digit figure in 1985 (on the average) and stayed at that level until
now (except for 3 years, 89,90,91, it was slightly below 10%). Unemployment has become for long now the
number one preoccupation of the French population and also the number one priority
for the different governments.
I was
myself hit by this national problem in a very special way. As I was working for a local administration,
I was fired and threaten to have professional problems all my life if I did not
accept the dismissal with no compensation.
I did have many problems as I was told I would have since I stayed more
than 4 years (51 months) unemployed in the last six years.
I
know that, as leader of large countries or international organizations, you do
not judge individual cases. But your
work may lead you to judge countries or behaviors of politicians around the
world when it is necessary. Please
understand that it is France and the behavior of the French political class
toward unemployment that I would like you to judge and not just my project or
individual case.
The
President of the local administration who fired me, a senator (and mayor), was
judged for frauds. He stole travel
expense money, paid is maid with public money, and hired his wife in his
cabinet (paid his wife) for no work (she was also getting paid by the French
National Assembly). He was sentenced by
three different jurisdictions, penal court, high court of justice for
administration, and the administrative court (because I sued the administration
and explained the judge that they fired me to facilitate the frauds, the
computer system I was developing at the time would have prevented the fraud
they described).
But
the man is still a senator, still mayor and still on the board which votes the
budget of the department, he even seems to have a wide support (he paid also
the wife of Paris mayor, and other persons for no real work, the trial is now
going on). He was not excluded from his
political party the RPR. And even his
successor from the socialist party (competitor party) who had criticized his
frauds (used them even to win the job), has maintained the position against me
in court although he was not able to refute my accusations.
How can the political class tolerate in the Senate and
in a political party someone who has committed so many frauds related to work
discrimination and favoritism, when, at the same time, it tells the French
population that everything must be done to fight unemployment?
I
believe that the answer is: Because the
high unemployment level is a political will. I am not saying that it is a will of Mr. Chirac or Mr. Jospin but
it is a will of a part of the political class (and support) large enough to
prevent the level from going down. The
unemployment level around 11% presents benefits for many, it is a powerful
discrimination tool, and it does not stop economic growth, it seems. A study on this subject ordered by Mr. Juppé
in 1996 describes some side effects of the high unemployment level which can
easily be associated to important political themes (values) defended by parties
from the right or the left.
Unemployment strengthens family solidarity, links parent-descendant, the
‘family’ theme is strongly defended by parties from the right. Unemployment has created a stronger interest
for public service, it valorizes public jobs, public service is strongly
defended by parties from the left.
Another
important political theme in France is the immigration. It is now possible for a European citizen to
live anywhere in Europe, so the only real ways to discourage immigration are
the high unemployment level and a strong discrimination. These are just general arguments, but the
study mentions one specificity of the French unemployment which confirms the
idea exposed even more strongly. It is
more difficult to come out from unemployment in France than it is in other G5
countries. Why this particularity? Because unemployment is created by obscure
‘political’ reasons instead of economical or organizational necessity more
often in France than it is in other G5 countries.
Is there
evidence that these remarks apply only to France in the G7? Yes, I believe, Italy has recently accepted
to legalize all its ‘without paper’, so many people from the entire Europe just
rushed in Italy to obtain papers.
France had also the problem but ‘without paper’ were not legalized. Another example is, during the Kosovo
crisis, the media mentioned that Germany had accepted a very large number of
refugees in comparison to other countries like France for example. These examples are symbols, they show
initiatives taken by politicians to ‘promote’ ‘hospitality’ and to refuse
discrimination.
The
Kosovo conflict is still very present in everyone’s mind, so I would like to
mention it briefly. For the past twelve
years, the Serbs have used force (troops, tanks and airplane) to try to impose
their political supremacy in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. They were in some way using force to
discriminate people (for religious or political reason). What NATO tried to explain to the Serbs
(after weeks, months or even years of negotiation) is that they can not use
guns to solve their political problems.
Many people hoped that they would change their mind after few days of
bombing but, if the international community (G8, UN, Europe, ...) had not
joined forces and asked together the same effort from the Serbs, they probably
would not have understood, and the conflict would have most certainly lasted
much longer, creating many more victims.
The
unemployment problem in France has existed for more than 14 years, and, exactly
like in former Yugoslavia and for the reasons mentioned above, it will most
probably not be solved without the ‘help’ of international institutions (G8,
UN, European Union, specialized agencies, ...). I don’t think it is a problem of ‘heart’, France is always ready
to give out money for research to cure diseases, or to help countries struck by
tragedies like in Central America (after the terrible storm), even in the
Kosovo crisis, the Red Cross was surprised how much food was collected in France
for the refugee. France has ‘heart’, the problem is an ‘intellectual problem’.
France
has to understand that the high unemployment level creates poverty as it is
mentioned in the report to the Prime Minister. What is the point to give out
money to international organizations or international programs to fight
poverty, exclusion or defend human rights in developing countries or others, if
you create poverty and exclusion in your own country? As chiefs of international organizations, what will you have to
tell France if the problem is not solved soon or if it gets worth? ‘We can’t accept your donation because you
have to many poor people in your country, you have too many people sleeping in
the street and dying when the winter is cold’.
French
politicians have to understand that they cannot use unemployment as a tool to
‘promote’ their political ideas or values. They have to set the example and
explain the French community that we cannot discriminate anyone on the job
market. They have to punish politically
those politicians who committed faults related to work discrimination and were
sentenced by courts of justice.
The
international community does not accept discrimination on the job market. Last year it was an important theme of the
G8 summit of Birmingham. This year in
March, the responsibility of the resignation of the European Commission was
mostly given (by the parliament and the media) to Mrs. Cresson, a French
politician (for favoritism among other reasons). It had some effect in France without any doubt.
Mr.
Clinton, in his Remarks to the International Labor Organization Conference last
week in Geneva, had this phrase ‘If we allow the ups and downs of financial
crisis to divert us from investing in our people, it is not only those citizens
or nations that will suffer -- the entire world will suffer from their lost
potential.’ We can apply his idea here,
if you let France create poverty by keeping a large part of its population
unemployed, it is not only the 7 millions persons affected or France that will
suffer -- the entire world will suffer.
Apart
from Mr. Chirac’s encouragement letter, I did not get a strong support from
France for the project I submitted you.
So I feel, it is my duty to present you this different point of view on
the unemployment problem to help France and to defend my proposal. I was hit by unemployment (like 7 millions
people), and I am bringing you proofs of the culpability of the people who
fired me, proofs that French politicians had no result on unemployment and that
they do not have an appropriate behavior to solve the problem. I am also bringing you proofs that I made
the effort to come out from unemployment with dignity by proposing a project
useful for the international community.
I
have put my trust in justice and in international institutions (G8, UN,
European Commission, ...). Justice gave
me reason but French politicians do not want to accept its decisions and to
punish politically the politician guilty.
Your expert have shown interest for my proposal, but French politicians
do not seem to understand. They have a
responsibility in the high unemployment level therefore they cannot have an
objective judgment on my case. Together perhaps can you help France to find
ways to lower the number of unemployed and suggest to the French politicians a
more appropriate behavior for the unemployment problem, like for example
supporting more strongly individual initiatives which are good for everyone
(even the unemployed).
Mr.
Annan, the critical aspect of the project is the coordination of work between
the different international organizations, so you are certainly among the most
competent persons to manage it. It
represents, I believe, an important step in the evolution of international
organizations information systems. I
would be pleased to work for you and, in cooperation with the other
organizations, to realize the project for the benefit of everyone.
I am
copying my letter to Mr. Ted Turner because I sent him the proposal recently
and asked for his support. He has shown
the world that individuals too can play a great part in peace by putting more
trust in international institutions. As
political leaders or leaders of large organizations mandated by countries,
isn’t it what you ask the people regularly, to trust you?
I
trust you will take the right decision for the world and remain
Yours
sincerely,
Pierre
Genevier
Recipients list:
Mr.
Bill Clinton, President of the United States
Mr.
Boris Yeltsin, President of the Russian Federation
Mr.
Keizo Obuchi, Prime Minister of Japan
Mr.
Gerhard Schrodër, German Chancelor
Mr.
Massimo D’Alema, President du Conseil Italien
Mr.
Tony Blair, Prime Minister of England
Mr.
Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada
Mr.
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Mr.
Donald J. Johnston, Secretary-General of OECD
Mr.
Youri F. Yarov, Executive-Secretary of CIS
Dr.
Gro Harlem Brundland, Director-General, WHO
Mr.
James D. Wolfensohn, President, World Bank
Mr.
Michel Camdessus, Managing Director, IMF
Mr.
Juan Somavia, Director-General, ILO
Mr.
Renato Ruggiero, Director-General, WTO
Dr.
Jacques Diouf, Director-General, FAO
Mr.
Carlos Magarinos, Director-General, UNIDO
Mr.
Frederico Mayor, Director-General, UNESCO
Mr.
Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission
Copy: Mr. Ted
Turner, Atlanta, USA
Attachment:
Project proposal and documents related to ideas and facts exposed.