France. Political and social change

France. Political and social change:
French people, especially their leaders, are known for having distinctive ideas about their economic system, political and education institutions and society. The Gaullist era marked the culmination of French 'exceptionalism' in the areas of economic protection, state-directed enterprise, elitist power structure and a foreign policy of grandeur. Thirty years later, all these aspects of French life are changing, bringing France into line with other European, and indeed international, standards of economic, political and cultural behaviour.

In this book, John Girling provides an informative overview of French life in a climate of globalisation and European integration. He critically examines the residual values of grandeur and elitism in the administrative, political and economicleadership of contemporary France and evaluates their changing profiles in the areas of education, domestic and foreign policy. He also analyses current political practice in the absence of major ideologies, the continuing scope for economic-political collusion nationally and in local government as well as the countervailing force of 'civil society' at a time of popular disillusionment with politics. Finally, the book addresses the question of French cultural identity from both optimistic and pessimistic perspectives in the face of a rapidly changing world.

Girling, John
France. Political and social change
Routledge, 1998
ISBN: 0-415-18324-3 (Hbk)/ 0-415-18325-1 (Pbk)
Price: £45.00 (Hbk)/ £14.99 (Pbk)