| Socialist Party leader François Mitterrand's defeat of President Giscard d'Estaing in national elections led to turmoil in financial markets: the stock exchange suspended trading for 48 hours, and extra customs officials were posted to prevent the smuggling of money and other valuables out of the country. In the June 14–20 National Assembly elections, the socialists won by a landslide, assuring Mitterrand of full power as the first Socialist president of the Fifth Republic. Mitterrand appointed four Communist members to his cabinet and began an economic austerity program that included nationalization on a scale unprecedented since the immediate postwar period, devaluation of the franc, and tax hikes for the rich. Mitterrand also proceeded to end nuclear tests and abolish the death penalty. | 1 |
