Political institutions in contemporary France

Book abstract:

Change is constant and perhaps the only variable is our response to change. We can thank the French for the phrase 'plus ça change ...' and in political terms the French have certainly experienced much change - thirteen different Constitutions in the two hundred years since the Revolution. This book provides the reader with an informed view of French political institutions with particular focus on the Fifth Republic, one of the longer lasting constitutional arrangements in French political history.

The work comprises eight chapters plus a concluding chapter. The historical background is laid out in chapters one to three which cover the origins of the Fifth Republic, the main political parties in the system, and the role of the State in French political life. Chapter four explores the dual executive, and the roles of President and Prime Minister. Bureaucracy and technocracy are examined in chapter five whilst chapter six concentrates on the legislature and explains why the National Assembly and the Senate are so weak. The increasing importance of judicial politics and the changing role of the judiciary are addressed in chapter seven. The role of local government and the impact of recent decentralisation reforms upon the decline of centre-periphery policies is considered in chapter eight. The conclusion might well fulfil the comment 'plus ça change ...'. But whilst politicians enter politics with the broadly confessed ambition of 'wanting to make a difference', will it ever be any different?

The book will interest students of French politics, comparative politics, and European studies.

Robert Elgie is Paddy Moriarty Professor of Government and International Studies at Dublin City University, Ireland.