ABSTRACT
Although the creation of a ‘service public unifié et laïque de l’Education Nationale’ (which seems to imply the nationalization of the private schools, subsidized by the state) figured prominently in the programme of François Mitterrand, it did not play a large role in the presidential and legislative campaigns of 1981. The Catholic hierarchy had also refrained from taking a position on the issue. Today calm reigns again in this domain. By the time of the televised debate between Laurent Fabius and Jacques Chirac on 27 October 1985, if the question of manpower training arose, the education issue did not come up at all. Between 1981 and 1985, however, there was a veritable tempest which brought about the departure of the Minister of Education, Alain Savary, and the Prime Minister himself (14 July 1984). Without reviewing the details of these events, we would here like to do two things. First, we want to demonstrate the parallels between quarrels about schools and pedagogy and understand the links between them. Then we want to show why the Left ultimately suffered a double defeat.
