Thanks to a tanking economy and job losses, their future is going down the drain. But Terra Nova has nothing at all to offer them.

France’s Terra Nova: the danger of think tanks

By Churchmouse

At the end of May, I wrote a few posts at my place about French Socialists in light of the Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) sex scandal.

One of the posts included a profile of the think tank Terra Nova, which was poised to help DSK with his expected run in the Socialist primary for the 2012 presidential elections. As we know, events in New York put paid to that.

However, Terra Nova has a few other tricks up its sleeve — a new electorate for France’s Parti Socialiste (PS).

Although founded recently — in 2008 — Terra Nova is an offshoot of former Prime Minister Michel Rocard’s deuxième gauche — ‘the second [read 'new'] Left’. This movement began in the late 1950s but only began picking up steam after the May 1968 demonstrations. Rocard was one of the emerging PS stars who championed la deuxième gauche, which de-emphasises Marxism in favour of more communitarian solutions to socio-political issues.

Rocard has a key position in Terra Nova, heading it along with founder Olivier Ferrand. Ferrand is a civil servant, born in 1960. Too young to make use of May 1968 and radical leftist organisations, his generation opted for conventional routes to power. Ferrand pursued Establishment education and credentials. He attended the renowned Sciences Po (Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris) and one of the most famous grandes écoles, ENA (Ecole Nationale d’Administration), whose graduates are referred to as énarques.

Ferrand has had a career one can only dream of. He began in the French Treasury where he participated in international negotiations involving the G7, the OECD and the IMF. Afterward, he was a general delegate to another think tank, one founded by DSK and Michel Rocard, called ‘A Gauche, en Europe’ (‘To the Left, in Europe’). Therefore, Ferrand is far removed from the working-class, grass roots ethic which used to be part and parcel of the PS.

But, there’s more. A number of cutting-edge companies have donated money to Terra Nova, among them are Microsoft, Total, SAP, RTE, Euro RSCG and Capgemini.

Capgemini — one of the world’s top 10 management consulting groups — gives us yet another link to explore. Paul Hermelin heads Capgemini. Years before that he served as a Cabinet Director for DSK under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin (PS). Hermelin is also a local Socialist councillor for Avignon.

And — Euro RSCG provides DSK’s PR.

Ah, the wonderful world of connections.

Ferrand has been steeped in globalism and a worldview encompassing sophisticated financial and economic considerations. He is concerned with the flow of money, markets and people. As a result, ordinary folk are just atoms or warm bodies.

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Read more: www.4liberty.org.uk