The former Minister of the Economy played an important role in the history of European construction. He also made his mark by refusing to run in the 1995 presidential election, when he was best placed on the left to win.
The European Union is losing one of its most eminent builders. Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995, died at the age of 98, his daughter, the mayor of Lille, Martine Aubry, announced on Wednesday December 27. The old Minister of Economy and Finance of François Mitterrand (1981-1984) will also be remembered as the man who did not seize his chance during the 1995 presidential election. “There is an element of regret of course. Perhaps as president, I could have further advanced certain things that were close to my heart”he admitted in May 2022 in the documentary Jacques Delors, journey of a Europeandirected by Cécile Amar and broadcast on France 5.
“But when we have made a decision, we must accept it.”
Jacques Delorsin the documentary “Jacques Delors, journey of a European”
His choice not to run for the Elysée, announced on December 11, 1994 in the famous political program “7 sur 7” on TF1, had surprised the entire political and media class, starting with presenter Anne Sinclair. That day, the former minister, well placed in the polls, arrived a quarter of an hour before the broadcast and went straight to makeup. “He brings everyone out, including the managers of TF1. And he says to me: ‘I’m not going’, tells Anne Sinclair to franceinfo. At that moment, I felt the blow as a citizen because I wanted his candidacy.”
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Then comes the live broadcast and, during the first part of the broadcast, the journalist has some doubts. “His analysis of society was such that it suggested that he had to go there. Throughout that first half hour, I spent my time saying to myself: ‘But you heard wrong, in fact, He’s going there !'” But after an ad break, Jacques Delors puts an end to the suspense. “I have decided not to be a candidate for the presidency of the Republic. It is not an easy decision to make.” He mentions personal reasons such as his age, but also the political situation. “I considered that part of the Socialist Party would not support me as much as was necessaryhe explained in 2021 to the magazine Point. This situation risked preventing me from acting as I believed to be good for France.”
By his own admission, this renunciation puts an end to his political career. “1994 was frankly – even if I didn’t realize it immediately – renouncing politics. And renouncing politics is not renouncing glory, it is renouncing the fact of doing something useful thing in one place”he confides to journalist Cécile Amar in The man who didn’t want to be king. Conversations with Jacques Delors (Grasset, 2016). “He doesn’t regret the decision he made, because at the moment he makes it, he knows he won’t be able to govern. But what he regrets is that once he says no , it’s the end of his career. He’s 69 years old and he could still do a lot of things.”explains to franceinfo Cécile Amar, who remained close to the Delors family.
From the Banque de France to Matignon
Son of a Corrézien and an Auvergne, Jacques Delors was born in July 1925 and grew up in a modest environment. “They lived in a very small apartment in the 11th arrondissement [à l’époque un quartier populaire de la capitale]tells his daughter Martine Aubry on France 5. My grandfather worked at the Banque de France, as a bailiff, and my grandmother made hats at home.” The war pushes the family on the road. The Delors took refuge with relatives in Auvergne.
Back in Paris, Jacques Delors considered a career in cinema or journalism, but his father pushed him to redirect his professional project. He then obtained a law degree and followed in his father’s footsteps at the Banque de France, where he joined the French Confederation of Christian Workers (CFTC) from day one.
“The unions, for me, are the defense of the material and moral interests of workers. They are essential for me.”
Jacques DelorsIn the documentary “Jacques Delors, journey of a European”
The CFTC is an organization inspired by the social doctrine of the Church. Activist of the Young Christian Workers (JOC), Jacques Delors has never hidden his religious convictions. “Being Catholic, being a believer, for me, it’s not important, it’s vital”he explained on France 5. Thanks to his union activity, he joined the Economic and Social Council and stood out for his skills in social negotiation.
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His various reports attracted attention and in 1962 he joined the General Planning Commission, where he dealt with social and cultural affairs, as detailed by the Jacques Delors Institute. In 1969, he entered Matignon and became project manager for the new Gaullist Prime Minister. Jacques Chaban-Delmas. He participates with Simon Nora in the New Society project, a plan to modernize France which attempts to provide a response to the events of May-68.
“He often said that his best years were at the Planning Commission, and that his best political experience was Chaban. The guiding principle of all this is social negotiationcomments Cécile Amar. Its political legacy will remain social negotiation and the fact of doing politics while always being attentive to ensuring that the unions are listened to, that laws are discussed, that a social compromise is sought…”
“Rigour is inseparable from all politics”
The Chaban experience ended in 1972. Jacques Delors returned to the Banque de France as a member of the General Council and became associate professor of economics at Paris-Dauphine University. But politics is never far away. In 1974 he joined the Socialist Party and joined François Mitterrand’s movement. He became a Member of the European Parliament in 1979 and Minister of Economy and Finance after the arrival of François Mitterrand at the Elysée in 1981. His image as a moderate was supposed to reassure the markets. He then tried to hold the purse strings in the face of the reformist desire resulting from the 110 proposals of the socialist program.
“From the start, I acted a little on the brakes. I wasn’t the only one, but I was a bit of a pain in the ass number 1.”
Jacques Delorsin the documentary “Jacques Delors, journey of a European”
The Minister of Finance quickly announced a pause in reforms and began an austerity policy including, in particular, the freezing of prices and wages. The period was difficult for him, especially as he lost his son Jean-Paul to leukemia in 1982. But the following year, he still saw his ideas triumph with the turn of rigor chosen by François Mitterrand. , which allows France to remain part of European construction. “I was happy that we were returning to rigor. Rigor is not just a right-wing notion, rigor is inseparable from any policy that wants to succeed”he commented on France 5.
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With the departure of Pierre Mauroy de Matignon, he finds himself on the list of candidates for the post of Prime Minister. “There were three of us in a sort of dentist’s room. Bérégovoy, Fabius and me”he said again on France 5. [François Mitterrand] took us one after the other. That’s when he asked me to be Prime Minister.” But Jacques Delors requests control of Bercy to accept the position, which blocks his path. And it is finally Laurent Fabius who will settle on rue de Varenne.
“One of the thoughts that built Europe”
For Delors, the consolation prize is in Brussels. François Mitterrand would like the European Commission to be headed by a Frenchman. German Chancellor Helmut Kohl agrees, but sets one condition: he wants Jacques Delors. The latter is therefore preparing to take the post of President of the Commission by working on a project after touring European capitals. For ten years, it will thus reawaken European cooperation and deepen integration. “Delors did what he did best, that is to say imagine. He arrived in Brussels with his social-democratic project and with the objective of advancing the internal project”tells franceinfo Pascal Lamy, former European commissioner and friend of Jacques Delors.
The Single European Act came into force in 1987 and completed the construction of a single market. The text establishes freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and people. “I said to myself that, perhaps, the big market would please liberals, of course, but also socialists because it is the prospect of an increase in wealth and markets”he confided to France 5. It also lays the groundwork for the Erasmus program, which facilitates access to a year of study abroad for European students. “Erasmus, I had the idea even before I was President of the Commission. My problem was to convince Mrs Thatcher, I succeeded”he said again on France 5.
“The Delors era is the European moment that everyone remembers. When things are going well, we say: ‘During Delors’ time, things were better’, and when things are not going well, we say: ‘With Delors , it would be betternotes Pascal Lamy. He had a vision and a method that relaunched integration as a historic project. It will remain an extremely structured thought and a method which consists of a mixture of pedagogy, negotiation, and sometimes trickery. It will remain as one of the thoughts that built Europe. He was both an architect and a mason.