Behind the Headlines the Jews of France Who Advise Mitterrand

The background of the Jews around President Francois Mitterrand is fascinating indeed.

Jacques Attali, 38, who manages to spend part of almost every day offering political advice as well as intellectual stimulations, is from North Africa. He is one of the more than 300,000 Jews from that continent who infused new blood into the French Jewish community which changed from a majority of Ashkenazic Jews to a majority of Sephardic Jews.

The prestigious newspaper, Le Monde, described Attali as "an ebullient Proteus," who apparently has succeeded in cutting back on the number of hours he sleeps without noticeable effect. Otherwise, asks Le Monde, how would he have been able at the same time to take an active role in the Socialist Party; act as Mitterrand’s economic adviser and then staff director — all without giving up piano, skiing or tennis?

Prolific, indeed, Attali is the author of numerous books, and his articles on economic problems have shown an "uncommon originality, " according to experts in the field.

ROBERT BADINTER

Robert Badinter is a member of the board of The Fonds Social Juif Unifie and also has been active on behalf of Soviet Jewry. He was born in 1929, into a family of East European immigrants and has been a lawyer at the Paris Court of Appeals since 1951. Along with Jean Denis Bredin, he heads one of the largest law firms in Paris.

What makes Badinter so intriguing is that he has led a public campaign against capital punishment and his appointment as Minister of Justice indicated that the government intended to outlaw the death penalty. This bill recently became law. In fact, Badinter was "a sort of last resort" for those who faced the death penalty.

(Another Jewish Cabinet minister, in the former Administration, Simone Veil, led the fight to legalize abortion in France. She became one of France’s most popular ministers and subsequently was elected President of the European Parliament, a post she held until earlier this month.)

Badinter, who has an "agregation," most advanced law degree in France, is a member of the steering committee of the League for the Rights of Man and is active in Amnesty International. He still manages to teach law at the Sorbonne and is married to the daughter of advertising tycoon, Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet.

PIERRE DREYFUS

As Minister of Industry, Pierre Dreyfus will be on familiar territory. He first joined the ministry back in 1935 as inspector general of industry.

Dreyfus is known to be particularly sensitive to the situation of North African Jews. He himself was raised in a relatively assimilated French Jewish family. In fact, it was reported, at the age of 13 he surprised his family with a request for a Bar Mitzvah, to which they agreed.

Since that time he has firmly identified himself with the French Jewish community. He was instrumental in negotiations with French national schools, such as the L’Ecole Normale and L’Ecole Nationale d’Administration, which led to the schools agreeing not to hold examinations on Jewish holidays.

Dreyfus holds the honors of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor and Commander of the National Order of Merit. He began his career as a member of the corps of technical advisors in the French Ministry of Commerce in Paris before World War II. During the war, he served as an infantry sergeant until the fall of France and then joined the Resistance.

JACK LANG

It was to Jack Lang that Mitterrand gave the task to organize the inaugural ceremonies held at the Pantheon on May 21.

All his life Lang has led parallel lives in the world of politics, theater and university. First active in the ranks of the young radicals who supported President Pierre Mendes-France, he joined the Socialists in 1965. It was Lang’s organizational genius which was responsible for setting up the Festival of Nancy; he was its guiding force and it became an important center of creativity. In 1978, Lang became an advisor to Mitterrand.