French PM attacks US model of globalisation

[Ulhas Joglekar]

19 December 1999
French PM attacks US model of globalisation
TOKYO: French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin on Saturday reiterated his veiled
attacks on the US by saying globalisation contained as many pitfalls as
advantages.
Jospin, on the last leg of a three-day visit to Japan, used his meetings
with Japanese leaders to press for a balance between greater liberalisation
as espoused by the US and the defence of national traditions.
He said during a get-together with Japanese cultural and social figures that
globalisation had its merits because "escaping from nationalism,
parochialism and regionalism is progress".
"However, I fear that globalisation ... could create more inequality than
fairness," he added.
He reaffirmed his belief that France and Japan had to adapt their social
models better to "preserve" them in the face of commercial dictates. Jospin
was meeting about 50 arts and social personalities, some of whom shared his
concern.
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