Political Parties in France

1
Political Parties in France

• A Polarized, Multi-Party Tradition
• Historic Political Families
• How the Party System has evolved in Fifth
  Republic?

2
Ideological Divisions and Political Families

• Political Parties
• Electoral Systems
• Many Modes of Elections
• Voting patterns

3
Polarization / Fragmentation rooted in Historic
Ideological Divisions

• The ancien Regime, Revolution and Reaction
• Religion and Politics/ Battles over Church and
  State
• Lessons from the Dreyfus Affair?
• Resistance and Collaboration

4
The French Right

• Historic Divisions
• Bourbon Absolutism (aristocratic base)
• Orleanist Constitutionalists (upper bourgeoisie)
• Bonapartism

• Modern Divisions
• Gaullism (from RPF to UMP)
• Moderates, traditional conservatives
  (Giscardists, UDF)
• Extremists FN

5
Understanding Gaullism

• The original Gaullists Free French and the
  Resistance
• RPF Classic gaullism in Rassemblement du peuple
  française.
• UNR 1958 Almost a catch-all party, nationalism
  and populism
• 1976 RPR and neo-gaullist Chirac
• Presidential Gaullism in UMP
• Sarkozy captures the movement

6
The French Left Republican and Secular

• Radical-Socialists, many labels, Secularism
  (Laicité) as core value.
• Socialism from SFIO to PS
• Communism Revolutionary and Proletarian Roots
  Bolshevik Watershed Stalinist structures
• Splinter left groupings
• Revolutionary and Spontaneous Protests

7
Le Pen and the National Front

• What kind of Extremism?
• Roots in the authoritarian right of Vichy
• Links to Algérie française and Pieds noirs
  returnees.
• Anti foreigner, anti-semetic, anti-EU themes
• Blue collar appeals

8
Partisan Divisions in the 2002 Elections

• On the Left

• On the Right