Pierre Mauroy (5 July 1928 – 7 June 2013) was a French Socialist politician who was Prime Minister of France from 1981 to 1984 under President François Mitterrand. Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. At the time of his death Mauroy was the emeritus mayor of the city of Lille. He died from complications of lung cancer on 7 June 2013 at the age of 84. He is the namesake of Lille's new stadium, Stade Pierre-Mauroy. As prime minister, Mauroy's government implemented a range of social reforms during its term. These included reducing the legal workweek, lowering the retirement age, increasing social welfare benefits, and extending entitlement to paid holidays. The government increased state industrial investment, provided credit to private industry, created new civil service jobs, and launched a housebuilding drive. It also reduced the burden of direct taxes on lower-income groups, increased the minimum wage and unemployment benefits, and extended health care coverage. The Mauroy government also introduced measures to promote voluntary retirement, early retirement, and improve socio-economic conditions in low-income neighborhoods. Harsh immigration statutes were reversed, new rights were introduced for helper spouses, and an anti-discriminatory Professional Equality Law was enacted. The government also passed decentralizing laws that transferred responsibilities for urban and economic planning to municipalities and regions. These policies significantly improved the living standards of the less well-off in French society, reducing poverty during Mauroy's term in office In the early 1980s, the Mauroy government introduced several ordinances and laws aimed at promoting gender equality, improving working conditions, and increasing access to education. These included limiting the duration of fixed-term contracts and assignments, opening up civil service jobs to women, abolishing tax laws that favored the head of the household, and providing special aid to farmers. The government also increased funding for education and created new teaching positions, particularly in technical education, and established Educational Priority Zones to address academic failure in depressed areas. Reforms were also introduced to make entry to the National School of Administration more accessible to a wider range of French society, including raising the age limit and reducing the advantage of upper-class applicants. .. Source: Article "Pierre Mauroy" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
