Chapter Nine

Politics in France
 Learning Objectives
• 9.1 Identify five policy challenges currently faced by the French
government.
• 9.2 Briefly recount the history of France’s 3rd, 4th, and 5th
republics.
• 9.3 Describe France’s economy in comparison with those of other
EU countries.
• 9.4 Discuss the governing principles of the French political system.
• 9.5 Describe the cultural characteristics that contribute to the French
style of government.
• 9.6 Identify the agents of political socialization in France and
describe the ways they have changed in recent years.
• 9.7 Discuss the makeup and recruitment of France’s “political class.”

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 Learning Objectives
• 9.8 List the three major types of interest groups in France and describe the
ways they influence government.
• 9.9 Explain France’s party system and the factors that have prevented
emergence of a two-party system, with examples from recent French
history.
• 9.10 Compare and contrast the French system of elections with that of the
United States.
• 9.11 Which institutions in France have the capacity to check the actions of a
government?
• 9.12 Discuss the decentralization of government that took place in France in
the 1980s.
• 9.13 Identify the accomplishments and shortcomings of France as a welfare
state.
• 9.14 Describe the effects of globalization on France, especially as an EU
member.

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 Country Bio: France

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 Current Policy Challenges
• 2013: French voters worried about economy,
unemployment, crime, urban violence
• High unemployment rates
• Questions regarding French membership in European
Union and stability of Euro
• Concerned about environment, pollution
• Issues of multiculturalism
• Anti-American sentiment, distrust of American policy
after 9/11

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 A Historical Perspective
• One of oldest nation-states of Europe
• French Revolution began with establishment of
constitutional monarchy in 1791, First Republic
• three more constitutions
• Napoleon, 1799
• restoration of Bourbon Monarchy
• Louis Phillippe, House of Orleans, 1830
• Paris Revolution, 1848

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 A Historical Perspective
• Second Republic, 1848-1852
• Universal male suffrage
• Napoleon III
• Franco Prussian War
• Third Republic, 1871
• WWII deeply divided France
• Charles de Gaulle
• Fourth Republic, 1946-1958
• 24 governments in 12 years
• Fifth Republic, 1958 - onward

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 Economy and Society
• Mixed geography – Atlantic, Continental, Mediterranean
• 3.6 million non-citizens (North Africa, Africa)
• 2 million French citizens foreign born
• Urban population lives in/around Paris
• Strong economic development: ranks among wealthiest
of advanced industrial countries, high inflation,
unemployment
• Labor force since WWII: younger, female
• Agriculture modernization since 1945
• Privatization of industry, commerce initiated 1990s

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 The Constitutional Tradition
• The Fifth Republic
• Constitution of 1958
• Parliamentary government
• Executive = President, Prime Minister
• Unitary State
• Secular Republic committed to equality
• Centralized political, administrative
authority

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 Political Culture
• Themes in political culture
• Burden of History: past feuds
superimposed on present conflicts
• Abstraction, Symbolism: philosophical
discussions abound
• Distrust of Government, Politics: self-
reliant individualism

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 Religious and Antireligious Traditions
• Both Catholic and “dechristianized”
• Conflict between the two
• Revolution of 1789
• Secularization
• Catholics – 65%
• French Jews – 1%
• Protestants – 1.7%
• Muslims – 4+ million: conflicts with public
school and worship, 2010 banned wear of
burka in public

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 Class and Status
• Social class
• Strong feelings regarding social class
• 2/3 workers identify as working class
• Periodic strikes intensify class
distinctions
• Traditional class differences reinforced
by growing sense of racial and ethnic
differences

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 Political Socialization
• Family: effective religious, ideological
orientation
• Associations: lack of belief in value of
cooperation, recent groups are sports,
ethnic
• Education: belief that education is great
equalizer
• Communication: TV as primary source,
newspapers in decline, Internet explosion

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 Recruitment and Style of Elites
• Political Class
• Changes in political recruitment
• Large number come from public
sector
• Civil Servants: Grands corps
• Tight Network

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 Importance of Gender
• Low representation of women among
French political elites
• Political advancement requires deep
involvement in parties
• Dearth of women’s representation
recognized but not addressed
• Women used to vote right, now vote
left

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 Interest Groups:
The Expression of Interests
• 8 percent of workers belong to unions
• Economic groups surge during dramatic
moments, then decline
• Limited resources, weakened by ideology
• Labor Movement: fragmented, weak,
membership declining, yet still have high
confidence level
• Business Interests: big, small have different
organizations
• Agricultural Interests: victim of own success,
challenges from world, EU
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 Means of Access and Styles of Action
• Parliament: reformed 1958 to reduce role
of interests in legislative process
• Privileged access or neocorporatism
• Professional organizations vs. interest
groups
• State interest group collaboration
• French state subsidizes interest groups
• Mass action: demonstrations, strikes

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 Political Parties:
The Traditional Party System
• Right and Left
• Electoral system of Fifth Republic favors simplification of
political alignments
• French parties weakly organized
• fragmentary
• modest linkage between national, local levels
• party membership low
• Main political parties dominate the organization of
parliamentary work and the selection of candidates
• Less important as mass membership organizations

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 Main Parties: Right and Center
• Union for a Popular Movement (UMP):
– Gaullist, Conservative
– renamed Rally for the Republic (RPR) by Chirac
– Back to UMP under Sarkozy
• Union for French Democracy (UDF)
– D’Estaing, Center/Conservative
– Coalitions with Center Parties
• National Front (NF)
– Far Right
– local network, municipal elections

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 The Left
• Socialist Party (PS)
• Mitterrand – brought PS to forefront
• Lionel Jospin: strong but lost to Chirac
• Coalition of plural left put Jospin in,
1997
• Communists
• French Communist Party (PCF): largest
left party, defeat in 1981 beginning of
decline

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 Patterns of Voting
• Elections held with considerable
frequency at every territorial level
• Communes, Departments, Regions
• First European country to enfranchise a
mass electorate, 1848 all males aged 21
• Women aged 21 granted vote in 1944
• Voting age lowered to 18 in 1974

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 Electoral Participation and Abstention
• Rising abstention
• Abstention highest in referendums, European
Parliament elections
• Abstention lowest in presidential elections
• Voters’ confidence in all parties has declined
• Abstention cyclical, few permanent abstainers
• Voting
• Parliamentary Elections: single-member districts
• Referendums: on constitution, peace, war, EU,
treaties, public positive toward referendum
• Presidential Elections: most important,
campaigns are short

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 Policy Processes: The Executive
• Two-headed executive:
• President derives authority from popular elections
• Prime Minister from majority in National Assembly
• Fifth Republic: President choses Prime Minister and
other Cabinet Ministers
• Prime minister an administrative body until 1986
• Prime Minister is more than first among equals
• President in foreground in foreign, military affairs
• Prime Minister is leader of executive, pursues
government objectives

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 Policy Processes: Parliament
• Composed of two houses
• National Assembly: 577 members
• Senate: 331 members
• Powers of Parliament:
• As a source of legislation
• As an organ of executive control
• Blocked vote, Article 44
• Ordinances, Article 38
• Motion of censure, Article 49, Section 3

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 Policy Processes: Parliament
• Devices for enhancing the role of Parliament
• Extended sessions
• Weekly question period
• Television cameras
• Power to amend
• Support citizens give elected deputies
• Role of Senate
• Delay legislation
• Some situations where assent is necessary
• Criticisms of Senate

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 Checks and Balances
• No tradition of judicial review
• Until Fifth Republic, France had no judicial
check on constitutionality of actions of
government
• Constitutional Council: opposition submits
bills for review
• Council of State: recourse for citizens

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 The State and Territorial Relations
• Unitary State
• Divided into 100 departments (counties)
• Each is under administrative responsibility
of prefect and has elected general council
• Grouped into 22 regions (states)
• Centralization versus the process of
decentralization
• Powers may be national but must be
implemented locally

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 Performance and Prospects:
A Welfare State
• High unemployment
• Concentration of wealth
• Distribution of taxes:
• indirect taxes higher than other industrialized
countries
• indirect taxes drive up prices, weigh heavily
on poor
• Welfare most effective in area of social transfers
• Relatively low poverty rates
• High level of quality medical services, public
services
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 The Public Sector and Regulation
• Government-operated business enterprises:
• railroads, energy, telecommunication,
maritime transport, aeronautic industry, most
bank deposits, almost 1/2 of insurance
premiums, 1/3 of auto industry, 1/3 of housing
industry
• Privatization
• Deregulation of the economy
• Other areas of regulation
• Environment
• immigration

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 Outlook: France, Europe, Globalization
• Main concerns of 30 years ago have changed
• Cleavages based on new conflicts emerging
• Immigration, ethnic consciousness
• Cold War end, communism’s fall
• Common Market, EU
• WTO, agricultural products, global trade
• Rejection of European Constitutional Treaty,
2005
• Problem of identity in expanding European
Union and independent world

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