The French Centre Right and the Challenges of a Party System in Transition

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.

Offers a major original contribution to understanding the evolution of French party politics Is the first full-length account in English of the problems faced during the Hollande presidency by Les Républicains Outlines a new theoretical model to understand the realignment of the French party system that occurred during the Hollande presidency Proposes a new approach to the study of party leadership, developing a new framework based on an analysis of the interaction of the dynamics of personality and representation Draws on extensive analysis of speeches, party literature and polling data

Auteur

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.

Contenu
1.Introduction.- 2.A changing French society and the rise and fall of consensus (c.1981-2012).- 3.Parties, party systems and the electorate.- 4.Divisions within the Centre Right over identity: 2012-2017.- 5.The Centre Right and the challenges of economic reform.- 6.Europe and the realignment of the French party system.- 7.In search of a leader: The Centre Right and its leadership crisis, 2012-2017.- 8.Conclusion