Contemporary France : an introduction to French politics and society / David Howarth, Georgios Varouxakis.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 212-226) and index.

Print version record.

Cover; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Table of Contents; Map of the regions of (metropolitan) France; Preface; List of abbreviations; Chapter 1 Continuity and change: the ever-lasting past; The French and their past; French republicanism; Socialism; Communism; Gaullism; Liberalism; Chapter 2 French society today; Versions of malaise: from la fracture sociale to l'insécurité; From planning and the trente glorieuses to the state's impotence; A society in prolonged crisis?; Changing patterns of employment and unemployment, and the new kinds of poverty

Foreigners, immigrants and scapegoatsGeographical disparities in crime and insecurity; Elitism, grandes écoles, énarchie and the Paris-provinces divide; Women, gender equality and feminism; Changing family patterns and sexual mores; AIDS in France; Sports, politics and national identity; Chapter 3 The surprisingly stable Fifth Republic; De Gaulle, the founder; The political conditions of stability; The dual (bicephalous) political executive; The three periods of cohabitation; The weak parliament; Reforming the 'all-powerful' administration?; The énarques: the French elite

Local government: the state of decentralisation 20 years onThe new importance of French regions; Corsica: a new special status for the Île de Beauté; The DOM-TOMs: les confettis de l'empire; The Fifth Estate in France: the French media; Conclusion; Chapter 4 Political forces and representation; Political parties; The 2002 presidential and legislative elections; Jacques Chirac: a controversial political survivor; Organised interests; New social movements; Another May '68?; Representation issues: fewer white males please ...; Conclusion; Chapter 5 Citizenship, nationalism and national identity

The complexities of French nationalism: nationalisme ouvert and nationalisme fermé?'Republican nationalism'; 'Nationalism of the right'; The Union sacrée and the merger of the two nationalisms; Révolution nationale, resistance and de Gaulle's nationalism; Citizenship, nationality and multiculturalism; Immigration; 'Integration' of immigrants; Chapter 6 Intellectual life; The emergence and roles of the intellectuels; 1945-68: the intellectuel engagé and the compagnon de route; The dominance of Marxism, existentialo-Marxism and Sovietophilia; The new fad: tiersmondisme; Dissenting voices

New challenges: Foucault and the 'specific intellectual'Bourdieu: l'intellectuel dominant?; Les années Débat and the declaration of war on Sartre's conception of the intellectual; Médiocratie and the intellectuel médiatique; The institutional and geographical framework of intellectual life: revues, écoles, publishing and the Parisian Rive Gauche; Chapter 7 Education, youth and popular culture; The French education system; Catholic schools: the lingering private/public divide; Universities; Grandes écoles: la crème de la crème; What are the social attitudes of French youth today?

At least since the French Revolution, France has the peculair distinction of simultaneously fascinating, charming and exasperating its neighbours and foreign observers. Contemporary France provides an essential introduction for students of French politics and society, exploring contemporary developments while placing them in a deeper historical, intellectual, cultural and social context that makes for insightful analysis. Thus, chapters on France's economic policy and welfare state, its foreign and European policies and its political movements and recent institutional developments are informed.

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