The Government and Politics of France 4th Edition continues to provide students with a comprehensive and incisive introduction to the intricacies of French politics and government. Written by two leading authorities on the subject, this widely used textbook has been fully revised and up-dated to take into account the many changes that have occurred since the last edition was published. Coverage includes: * French political traditions * constitution and the Fifth Republic * the executive * the Parliament * parties and the party system * the Administration * interest groups * local politics * the impact of the EU.

The Government and Politics of France has been the leading textbook on French politics for over a generation, and continues to provide students with a comprehensive and incisive introduction to the intricacies of French politics and government. This edition updates every chapter, with the addition of a new chapter on France and Europe. Recent events necessitate a new edition, particularly the 2002 elections and the growing interpenetration of France and the EU in student programmes, as well as in the real world. Whether covering the shifting balance within France's two-headed executive, the paradoxes of the French party politics, the power and fragmentation of France's administration, the growing assertiveness of French local government, or the newly visible world of the judiciary, The Government and Politics of France has always sought to confront established paradigms with the complex and untidy reality of French politics at the grass roots.

First published in 1973 The Government and Politics of France: Volume Two provides a comprehensive overview of French political history from 1958-1973. Dorothy Pickles writes with her characteristic elegance and the major themes are fully discussed and clearly related to their roots in earlier periods and to their consequences in later ones. The book covers the Algerian war and its aftermath; the notion of ‘participation’; educational reform; economic problems; regionalism; the changing nature of Gaullism; and in the field of foreign policy – attitudes of European Community; relations with the Atlantic powers and France’s attempts at achieving a world role. This book is a must read for students of French politics, political science, political institutions, and European politics.

The Government and Politics of France provides a clear and concise introduction to the working of the major political institutions in France, including the presidency, parliament, the government and administrative machinery, local government, political parties and pressure groups. The emphasis is on a lively sense of how political action happens, where power is located and how, and within what constraints, it is used. The new second edition provides a critical review of the Mitterand presidency and an assessment of continuities and change under Chirac.

First published in 1972 The Government and Politics of France: Volume One provides a comprehensive overview of the nature, theory, and practice of the French governmental system. It brings themes like the Constitution, the roles of the President and Prime Minister, the electoral system, parliamentary parties, and extra parliamentary groups in France. This book is a must read for students of French politics, political science, political institutions, and European politics.