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Comparative Politics:
Domestic Responses to Global Challenges, Seventh Edition

by Charles Hauss


Chapter 5: France


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Chapter Cover Slide – book cover, book title, chapter number, chapter title

Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter, students should be able to

  • Describe the main developments in French political history
  • Identify the political divisions that created stalemate before the Fifth Republic
  • Describe the changes the Fifth Republic’s constitution brought to the French regime and political culture
  • Describe the centralization of French government and politics
  • Identify the parties and interest groups that play significant roles in French politics
  • Describe the general political positions of those parties and interest groups
  • Explain the effects of proportional, plurality, and majority/second round-ballot electoral systems have on parties and on the partisan make-up of legislatures
  • Define “integrated elite” and provide examples from French political culture
  • Explain the role of grandes ecoles in the integration of the elite
  • Compare the integration of elites in France with the integration of elites in other countries studied
  • Describe how economic policies have dominated French politics
  • Identify the major policy issues facing the French government today

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Chapter Learning Objectives

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Chapter Learning Objectives

Crise? Quelle Crise?

  • Despite a history of protest, France has avoided most of the problems from the recession experienced by the U.S., U.K., and Germany
  • However, some banks were involved in risky lending
  • 2009 French students and workers went on strike
  • The crise poses no threat to the regime
  • President Sarkozy an “eccentric conservative,” not part of elite

Crise? Quelle Crise?

  • In the 1950’s the average French government lasted nine months
  • Fifth Republic of 1958 is a stable regime despite tradition of protest
  • Charles De Gaulle
  • One “welcomed” vote of no confidence
  • 2007 presidential election

Thinking about France

Key questions

  • Why did the establishment of stable democracy take so long?
  • How did de Gaulle’s changes to the country’s institutions and social, political, and economic processes contribute to the creation of an effective democratic state?
  • What is the impact of the influential elite whose roots lie in the bureaucracy?
  • Why has the French economy proven more resistant to reform over the past twenty years than the British?

Thinking about France

The basics:

  • France is a large European country
  • Until recently, it has had a relatively homogeneous population
  • 90% Roman Catholic (most unobservant) and 8% Muslim
  • Paris dominates France
  • An affluent country
  • Leading economic and technological power

Figure 5.1 Traditional Republican Politics in France

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Table 5.1

The Evolution of the French State: Centuries of Turmoil

Transformation and division

  • 15th-century centralization
  • Not isolated from wars of Europe (like British isles)
  • Revolution of 1789 reinforced centralization
  • Jacobins
  • Made political power of church officials an issue

The Evolution of the French State: Centuries of Turmoil

Transformation and division

  • 19th and 20th centuries anticlerical left and proclerical right
  • Democratic traditions
  • 1789 Declaration of Rights of Man
  • Universal suffrage for men after the Revolution of 1848
  • Industrial Revolution
  • Fragmented political opinion (many parties)
  • Fragmented economy (no unified economic right wing)

The Evolution of the French State: Centuries of Turmoil

Traditional republican politics: A vicious circle

  • Six major ideological groups
  • Resulted in deadlocked parliament
  • President and prime minister could not dissolve parliament
  • Difficult issues remained unsolved
  • Politicians were self serving
  • Centralized bureaucracy
  • French questioned regime

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Table 5.2

The Evolution of the French State: Centuries of Turmoil

From the Fourth to the Fifth Republic

  • Discredited Third Republic became model for Fourth after WWII
  • Brief prosperity with de Gaulle’s provisional government, established ENA
  • Ineffective government could not respond to post-war economic, social, and political change
  • Revolt from army and settlers in Algeria brought regime to an end

The Evolution of the French State: Centuries of Turmoil

  • From the Fourth to the Fifth Republic
  • Charles de Gaulle given power to deal with the rebellion and revise the constitution
  • Fifth Republic in place when de Gaulle left office in 1969

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Table 5.3

French Political Culture: From Alienation to Consensus

Taming political protest

  • Events of May 1968
  • Turning point in legitimizing Fifth Republic
  • De Gaulle used a new power and dissolved the National Assembly, ending the crisis
  • Different from past protest movements:
  • Groups had common adversary in the state
  • No one questioned legitimacy of the Fifth Republic, but advocated policy changes
  • In 1971 Mitterand’s socialist party adopted platform of reforms

French Political Culture: From Alienation to Consensus

Taming political protest

  • Neo-Socialists and Neo-Gaullists
  • Electoral success of Socialists in ’81 legitimized opposition
  • Transition to Socialist-led government legitimized regime

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Table 5.4

French Political Culture: From Alienation to Consensus

New divisions

  • Race
  • Unassimilated immigrant communities still alienated
  • Violent protests in Parisian suburbs – 2005
  • Activity of National Front and other anti-immigrant groups

French Political Culture: From Alienation to Consensus

New divisions

  • The EU
  • Referenda on EU issues display French ambivalence toward further integration
  • Same groups who feel threatened by immigrants oppose integration with Europe

Political Participation

Renewing the party system

  • Instead of fragmentation, party system formed by left and right coalitions. From 1962 on, either coalition has won a majority of seats in the National Assembly and the presidency
  • Catch-all parties

Political Participation

Renewing the party system: the Majority

  • Gaullist: Right leaning, frequently changed name
  • First disciplined party
  • Regularly wins at least ¼ of the vote
  • Committed to legacy of De Gaulle
  • Focused appeal around single leader
  • Slowest to adopt rhetoric of market capitalism
  • Independent republicans and Union for French democracy

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Table 5.5

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Table 5.6

Political Participation

Renewing the party system: The left

  • Socialist Party (PS)
  • Strong party during first half of 20th century, declined after WWII
  • Mitterand the force behind Socialist change and success
  • Championed autogestion
  • Alliance with PCF
  • Won presidency in 1981
  • 1980’s no clear policy agenda
  • Party in need of another renewal- 2007 election Hollande and Royal

Political Participation

Renewing the party system: The left

  • Communist Party (PCF)
  • Born Christmas 1920, group of socialists who supported the Bolshevik Revolution
  • Gained support during World War II
  • 20-25% of the vote in the 1970’s
  • PCF did not change views, less than 2% of the vote in 2007

Political Participation

Renewing the party system

  • The National Front
  • Anti-democratic, super-nationalistic party of far right
  • Rides anti-immigrant fears to some electoral success
  • Jean-Marie Le Pen

Political Participation

Renewing the party system

  • Minor parties
  • Greens
  • Far left
  • Parties that participate in an election and then fade
  • Rarely win 10% of popular vote

Political Participation

Why these changes happened: The French electoral

system

  • Proportional representation of the past
  • Easy for small parties to win seats
  • The two-ballot system and single-member districts
  • Any legislative candidate can contest the run-off election if they get 12.5% of vote or withdraw and support someone else
  • Direct election of the president, two candidates on run-off ballot

Political Participation

Parity: A victory for feminism?

  • Manifesto of 577
  • Parity Law: Constitutional amendment requires parties to run equal numbers of male and female candidates in proportional elections
  • Only 19% of National Assembly is female

Political Participation

Interest groups

  • Grassroots groups are small and rarely coordinated
  • Unions still active and influential, but fragmented
  • Business interests promoted more through informal, personal relationships

The French State

A new constitution for a new state

  • Strong president
  • Emergency powers
  • Can call a referendum
  • Directly elected by a majority
  • Can dissolve parliament and call for new elections
  • Large personal staff

The French State

A new constitution for a new state

  • Strong government and weakened legislature
  • Cabinet would not have to submit a vote of investiture
  • Government defeated in a vote of no confidence only by absolute majority
  • Incompatibility clause
  • Government could demand a bloc vote
  • Government could rule by decree
  • President De Gaulle appointed the prime minister
  • As a result, the National Assembly functions as smoothly as the House of Commons

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Table 5.7

The French State

A new constitution for a new state

  • Top bureaucrats recruited for cabinet posts
  • Cohabitation threatened gridlock, but pragmatic politicians agreed on a workable system
  • Senate
  • Indirectly elected mainly by local officials
  • Can object to proposals, but National Assembly position prevails if no agreement is reached

Figure 5.2: The Legislative Process in France

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Figure 5.1

The French State

The integrated elite

  • Bureaucrats politically powerful
  • Former bureaucrats lead parties and large corporations
  • ENA links them all together
  • Strong iron triangle
  • Socialists have tried to enact reforms to limit elitism

Figure 5.3: The Iron Triangle

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Figure 5.2

The French State

Local government

  • Appointed prefects controlled local government until 1981
  • Tutelle – extreme oversight of local decisions by French government
  • Some decentralization under Socialist governments
  • Abolished Tuelle
  • Elected departmental and regional council heads

The French State

The courts

  • Cour des comptes: country’s chief financial investigator
  • Conseil d’ estat: jurisdiction over the state and its actions
  • No judicial review
  • Constitutional Council reviews constitutionality of bills before they become law

The French State

The changing role of the state

  • Power of civil society has grown
  • Cohabitation, the absence of proposals for dramatic change, less charismatic leaders, and scandal have reduced the power of the presidency
  • Global and European forces impinge on policy making

Public Policy:
The Pursuit of Grandeur

Economic policy

  • Les Trentes Glorieuses: rapid growth under government direction between WWII and 1973
  • Nationalization and consolidation of corporations
  • The Gaullists relied on discretionary tax rates, investment credits, subsidies, and other state funds
  • Improved standard of living

Public Policy:
The Pursuit of Grandeur

Economic policy

  • Economic decline after OPEC oil embargo
  • Socialists abandoned nationalization goals in 1980’s
  • By 1988, left/right consensus was privatization
  • Public utilities nationalized
  • State holds stock in many companies

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Table 5.8

Public Policy:
The Pursuit of Grandeur

Economic Policy

  • State plays less dominant role in society than it did a quarter century ago
  • Leading growth in 1990’s in the high-tech sector
  • Economy is being shaped by European and global financial dynamics

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Table 5.9

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Table 5.9

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Table 5.9

Public Policy:
The Pursuit of Grandeur

The politics of headscarves

  • France guarantees individual rights to everyone
  • Secular government, centralization, and egalitarian ideals remain
  • December 2004—Chirac announced plan to ban conspicuous religious symbols in pubic schools (including headscarves for Muslim girls)

Public Policy:
The Pursuit of Grandeur

  • Foreign policy: France has pursued its national interest that at times have been at odds with the United States and Great Britain
  • De Gaulle’s post-WWII goal to restore French prominence in world politics
  • Created nuclear arsenal
  • Did not blindly accept U.S. Cold War policy
  • Opposed British entry into the Common Market

Public Policy:
The Pursuit of Grandeur

  • Foreign policy
  • Since OPEC embargo, policy has been more aligned with other European powers
  • European Integration has divided parties, not widely popular in France
  • Iraq: objection to U.S. methods

Feedback

  • Parisian dominated press and broadcast media
  • Le Monde
  • Government influence on media has declined since privatization
  • Tabloid press less influential than in Great Britain
  • Access to European and global cable and satellite providers reduces influence of French media
  • Pollsters not allowed to publish findings in the week before an election; Internet has made enforcement difficult
  • Conclusion: In Sarkoland