ABSTRACT
Since 1945, only two countries in Western Europe have made more than one systematic attempt to introduce socialism, France and Great Britain. In France, the Popular Front government which came into office in May 1936 had a brief spell of power of just over one year, ending in June 1937. The left was then in office again in France for a brief period of some eighteen months immediately after 1945. It held power from June 1981 to March 1986, and then again from June 1988 to March 1993. It has been in office since June 1997. In terms of parliamentary arithmetic, and therefore of the ability to decide how the economy of the country is run, the left has governed France for just under twelve years since 1945.
