This book argues that the defeat of the main French Centre Right party in the 2017 presidential and legislative elections, and its subsequent disintegration, were the result of a failure to respond effectively to the challenges posed by a continuing realignment of the party system. By the start of the Hollande presidency, many sections of the electorate had lost faith in the traditional parties of government and the ideologies which they represented and were adopting a more individualist approach to politics. The Left/Right divide, which had determined relations between parties since the creation of the Fifth Republic in 1958, gave way to a new arrangement, based on three axes – identity, liberal economics and Europe. These policy areas would provoke major differences of opinion among supporters of the Centre Right, and lead a significant number of them to abandon Les Républicains, which was a major factor in the election of Emmanuel Macron.

This text provides an overview of political parties in France. The social and ideological profiles of all the major parties are analysed, highlighting their principal functions and dynamics within the system. This examination is complemented by analyses of bloc and system features.

This book argues that the defeat of the main French Centre Right party in the 2017 presidential and legislative elections, and its subsequent disintegration, were the result of a failure to respond effectively to the challenges posed by a continuing realignment of the party system. By the start of the Hollande presidency, many sections of the electorate had lost faith in the traditional parties of government and the ideologies which they represented and were adopting a more individualist approach to politics. The Left/Right divide, which had determined relations between parties since the creation of the Fifth Republic in 1958, gave way to a new arrangement, based on three axes - identity, liberal economics and Europe. These policy areas would provoke major differences of opinion among supporters of the Centre Right, and lead a significant number of them to abandon Les Républicains, which was a major factor in the election of Emmanuel Macron. William Rispin completed his PhD in French Politics at the University of Warwick, UK. His work has focused on the evolution of the French party system and the problems faced by the Centre Right since 2002.

First Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

A study of party competition in Europe since 2008 aids understanding of the recent, often dramatic, changes taking place in European politics.

Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 195 countries and fifteen territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. The Freedom in the World political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region, in conducting their research. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.

This book examines the potential for cities, states and regions to take decisive action on climate change at the local level. Local action constitutes an essential component of global efforts to keep temperatures below the 2°C Paris Agreement threshold. Focusing on three green municipal leaders - New York, Boston and Paris - this volume examines their multilevel interactions with higher governance echelons in the United States and France. Even though these countries are located on different continents, similar patterns emerge on both sides of the Atlantic. This book explores the key role of municipalities and sub-state entities in shaping the climate policy agenda vis-à-vis national governments in the US and France. It argues that inadequate articulation of multilevel governance may jeopardize efforts to limit global temperature increase below the 2°C threshold by the end of the century.