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Six French Cabinet Ministers to Attend WSF The ministers' decision to head south for the WSF comes in the midst of debate in French society about France's role in Europe and the global economy. At a time when José Bove's attacks on McDonald's restaurants have become one of the best-known symbols of anti-globalization, a group of so-called modernizers in the French Socialist Party are calling on their country's left-wing movement to rethink its rejectionist policies. In a pamphlet entitled, "The Europe We Want," co-authors Pascal Lamy-the EU's trade commissioner and a Socialist Party activist-and Jean Pisani-Ferry criticize the French left's defensive mentality toward Europe. Without a more constructive position, they warn, France risks alienating itself from the European community and the world economy. A similar message is the subject of a new book by former Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who suggests a revamping of domestic Socialist policy. In contrast, the French ministers who plan to travel to Porto Alegre are joining a forum whose stated mission is to "counteract a process of capitalist globalization headed by huge international corporations and by governments and international institutions that serve their interests." This year's WSF will parallel the World Economic Forum meeting held in New York City on the same dates, January 31 through February 5. See Robert Graham, "Socialist 'Modernizers' Set Agenda Before French Election," Financial Times, January 20, 2002, www.ft.com.
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