According to received wisdom parties have played a mainly destructive role in French political development. Of questionable legitimacy, pursuing narrow sectarian goals, often corruptly, they have brought about division, weakness and the collapse of regimes. A proper reading of history suggests differently. By combining historical research and contemporary political science theory about party, the author shows that for over a century party has irrigated French democracy in often invisible ways, brokering working compromises between groups divided strongly along social, political and cultural lines. The key to this success is the party system, which allowed for a high degree of collusion and cooptation between political elites, rhetoric notwithstanding. This hidden logic has persisted to this day despite the advent of presidentialism and remains the key to the continuing prosperity of French democracy.

​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.

This title was first published in 2000: The Presidency has been the principal political focus of the French Fifth Republic and the new component of French democracy. This book looks at how the Presidency has shaped political parties and party systems, as well as how they have interacted with the new institution. The Presidency has acted as a unifying force, bringing together coalitions of parties to provide a political basis for presidential power, but has also been a divisive factor. Parties draw on longstanding traditions of French political life and the Presidency can provoke destructive rivalry as well as constructive coalition-building. Presented here is a discussion of the contemporary French party system - its dynamics, successes and failures. Written in an accessible style, it is intended for students of French studies and political parties, as well as comparative politics.

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.

In light of the transformation of the Front National (FN) to a major player in French politics, this book examines how the unprecedented boost in positive opinions towards the FN as well as its increasing membership and electoral success have been possible. Using a supply and demand framework and a mixed methods approach, the author investigates the development of the FN and compares the “new” FN under Marine Le Pen with the “old” FN under Jean-Marie Le Pen across 4 dimensions: (1) the party’s ideology, (2) the leadership styles of the two leaders including the composition of the party elites and the leaders’/ parties’ relationship with the media, (3) the party members and (4) the party voters. It appeals to scholars interested in the study of radical right-wing movements and parties as well as to anybody interested in French politics.

A revelatory examination of the global impact of Emmanuel Macron's tumultuous presidency. A political novice leading a brand new party, in 2017 Emmanuel Macron swept away traditional political forces and emerged as president of France. Almost immediately he realized his task was not only to modernize his country but to save the EU and a crumbling international order. From the decline of NATO, to Russian interference, to the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) protestors, Macron's term unfolded against a backdrop of social conflict, clashing ambitions, and resurgent big-power rivalries. In The Last President of Europe, William Drozdiak tells with exclusive inside access the story of Macron's presidency and the political challenges the French leader continues to face. Macron has ridden a wild rollercoaster of success and failure: he has a unique relationship with Donald Trump, a close-up view of the decline of Angela Merkel, and is both the greatest beneficiary from, and victim of, the chaos of Brexit across the Channel. He is fighting his own populist insurrection in France at the same time as he is trying to defend a system of values that once represented the West but is now under assault from all sides. Together these challenges make Macron the most consequential French leader of modern times, and perhaps the last true champion of the European ideal.

The extreme right-wing National Front is now France's fourth largest political party. In 1986 under a proportional electoral system it won thirty-five seats in the French National Assembly; in the 1988 Presidential election the National Front's leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen, obtained over fourteen percent of the popular vote. Over the past decade, it has won representation at virtually all levels of French politics. Le Pen's xenophobic anti-immigrant message has clearly attracted significant support in France. He has had a major influence upon the terms on which issues like immigration, nationality and racism are debated in France. Drawing on personal interviews with Le Pen and other National Front leaders, Jonathan Marcus traces the rise of Le Pen's party, and its impact on the French political scene, and in the process raises important questions about the future of French, European, and world politics. How far have the mainstream parties of both Left and Right faced up to Le Pen's challenge? Is the National Front now a permanent feature of French politics? To what degree is Le Pen a threat to French democracy? And finally, how successful will Le Pen be in pushing his agenda in the European Parliament?