ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the French Parti Socialiste (PS) and seeks to identify the origin and the nature of its preferences on European integration since its creation in 1905. The PS has been a self-proclaimed supporter of European integration throughout its history but – as this chapter will seek to demonstrate – a degree of nuance ought to be added to this professed view. In reality, the French Socialists have only conditionally embraced European integration, especially since the 1970s. The ‘Europeanism’ of the PS has been more functional than ideological. Despite committing itself officially to a ‘federal Europe’, the PS has always harboured strong reservations vis-à-vis the perceived neo-liberal and right-wing bias of the European project.
