Jospin Appointed Prime Minister

President Jacques Chirac on Monday named the Socialist Party leader, Lionel Jospin, prime minister, establishing a potentially fraught “cohabitation” of left and right at the pinnacle of the state as France seeks to arrest its economic decline and define its place in Europe’s plans for a single currency.

The “cohabitation” will be France’s third in eleven years, a reflection of the seesawing loyalties of voters dissatisfied with the state of things but often unhappy with politicians who try to change them. “Throw out the incumbents” - “sortir les sortants” - has become a rallying cry of a disgruntled France that wants to create more jobs without cutting the social benefits whose cost makes hiring expensive.