First published in 1997, this volume examines the presidential elections, one of the central events of the democratic process in France, and arguably the main organising principle of French politics since 1962, provide an opportunity to assess the development of the regime. More significantly, they allow us to asses modifications to the office of president and to French Presidentialism which are both reflected in an affected by the electoral campaign and the elections themselves. This book provides such an assessment, with specific reference to the candidates, issues and events of the 1995 Presidential elections.

A comprehensive new historical study of the extreme right in France, from the Vichy regime to the present day. The Front National has for some years been France's third political party and the most significant extreme-right force in Europe; its leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen, contested the second round of the 2002 presidential election with 5.5 million votes. This wide-ranging and authoritative book examines the resurgence of right-wing extremism in France from a historical perspective, tracing the political lineage of Le Pen and the FN through key figures and movements on the French extreme right since 1940. Part 1 devotes chapters to the Vichy regime, the aftermath of the Occupation, the Poujadist movement, the Algerian War, the ‘Nouvelle Droite’, and extreme-right ideology and activism in the 1960s and 1970s. Part 2 analyzes the electoral rise of the FN, its evolving programme and exploitation of salient issues, the geography and sociology of its electorate, its exercise of local power, and its impact on national political culture in contemporary France. The FN, it is argued, represents both the latest manifestation of a long tradition of right-wing radicalism and a complex new phenomenon within the changing social and political dynamics of France today. This is an essential book for all readers with an interest in French and European politics and modern history.

This study of the 1995 French presidential election explains why Jacques Chirac was elected the fifth President of the Fifth French Republic; it also places Chirac's election in the context of some of the more longstanding issues and debates in contemporary French politics, examining the Fifth Republic's institutional structures, the behaviour of its political parties, the attitudes of its citizens and the nature of its governance.

What has led to the recent revival of the extreme right in Western democracies such as France and Australia, and what impact has their success had on mainstream politics? What shift has taken place in recent times as ideas and groups that once were considered marginal and undemocratic have come to play an important part in mainstream politics? This book addresses these key questions by examining the resurgence of the extreme right in France and Australia and explores the history of right-wing groups and their relationship with and impact on mainstream politics. This compelling study on the rise of right-wing parties in two countries with different histories but similar experiences of how mainstream parties campaigned and reacted to the changing political landscape presents a fascinating comparison of the history and political impact of ethno-exclusivist and right-wing populist politics in liberal democracies. A detailed and thorough comparative analysis of parties such as the Front National and One Nation, and the mainstreaming of their discourse by prominent leaders like John Howard and Nicolas Sarkozy, offers new insights on the rise of the contemporary extreme right and how these groups and the ideas they represent have become increasingly mainstream, and perhaps even hegemonic in the current political state.

2017 marked the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome and the starting point for today’s European Union. Since then, the project has indisputably come a very long way and has undergone major changes in direction. However, one constant throughout has been the central role played by France. This important milestone is used to take stock of the relationship between France and Europe. The enclosed chapters cover a broad range of issues relating to the past, present and future, investigating Franco-European relations via the optic of a wide range of debates. These include: the issue of Europe in French presidential elections the impact of the European question on the development of the two major political forces (of left and right) in France, and its role in their internal tensions; Europe as a key consideration in French macro-economic policy France's Algerian question and missed opportunities to extend 'Europe' to its North African neighbour; Charles de Gaulle’s role in defining the EU’s structures for transnational democratic politics. Sixty years on: France and Europe from the Treaty of Rome to the 2017 elections assess how and why Europe matters in our understanding of contemporary France, and contributes to the important and ongoing research agendas for the study of France and the European Union. The chapters were originally published in a special issue of Modern & Contemporary France.

​Emmanuel Macron’s victory in the 2017 presidential elections represents one of the most important disruptions to French political life since the establishment of the Fifth Republic. This book analyses the political opportunities enabling a neophyte to conquer the Elysée, and the conditions leading to the unprecedented presidential runoff between this centrist EU enthusiast and pro-globalization candidate and the nationalistic/populist alternative embodied by Marine Le Pen. The book begins by considering trends in party competition and presidentialism in modern France, notably presidential primaries and their impact on party competition. It then moves to considering the role traditional explanatory factors in elections, namely policies and voter profiles, played in the result. Finally, it examines the dynamics of President Macron’s success in the legislatives, and how he dominated the traditional party blocs. This book will appeal to students of French politics as well as those interested in electoral behaviour and European political systems.