In France, Politicians Devote January to ‘Exchange of Vows’

“Get a lunchtime appointment in Paris in January with the people I need to see?” said the reporter from Time magazine. “Forget it.”

This is a very peculiar French season, known as the exchange of vows. For French President Jacques Chirac, it has meant eight receptions in one week at his official residence, plus a trip to his longtime power base, the farming area of Correze, about 250 miles south of Paris. He has offered his best wishes for the new year, received the same from groups ranging from the diplomatic corps and the French army to labor unions and bishops, then pumped hands and kissed his way through crowds gathered under the crystal chandeliers of the Elysee Palace.

In a country where there is no such thing as a January State of the Union address, exchanging vows gives politicians, from Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin down to the mayor of the smallest hamlet, a forum to state their agendas for the coming year, tout what’s been accomplished and take some swipes at opponents.

In one set of remarks, Chirac, a center-right politician, took a dig at France’s leftist government for moving slowly on reforms, from education to retirement benefits. Two days later, Jospin, a Socialist, used a reception of his own to promise a new tax credit and a “full year of work at the service of the French people.”

The vows continued this week, with ceremonies hosted by dignitaries including Paris Mayor Jean Tiberi, Justice Minister Marylise Lebranchu and Socialist Party First Secretary Francois Hollande.

“This is one of the events in the calendar that gives rhythm to our lives in France, like school vacations and the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau wine,” said Pierre Beylau, foreign editor at the newsmagazine Le Point, who presided over an exchange of vows last Friday between members of the press and Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine.

When reporters are on hand, exchanging vows can also become a polite spin control exercise over champagne and hors d’oeuvres. In his message, Vedrine expressly asked reporters to reconsider the results of last month’s European Union summit, hosted by the French in the Riviera city of Nice, which most correspondents on hand had deemed a failure.

Though these ceremonials might seem to have their roots in the carefully scripted etiquette of the French royal court, veteran observers of the political scene here say the January rites began after Gen. Charles de Gaulle became president in 1959. In recent years, the number of officials in France offering and receiving vows has proliferated, to the delight and profit of the country’s caterers.

Just in Privas, population 10,000, capital of the Ardeche, one of France’s most sparsely populated administrative departements, at least 80 separate exchanges of New Year’s greetings were scheduled this month.

Far from being an empty obligation of provincial life, these receptions have become valued opportunities for invitees to collar local leaders in the receiving line or at the buffet table and plead their case.

“When they come to exchange vows with the prefect, many mayors carry files under their arms,” said Jean-Francois Perret, deputy bureau chief in Privas for the Dauphine Libere newspaper. “They want to talk about real business, like funding for a construction project or getting a state subsidy.”