The French political discourse in the 1980s on the concepts of nation/state, Europe, security and the nature of international relations †

In this chapter we turn firstly to an analysis of the historical relationship between state, nation and patrie in French political discourse. Then an examination is made of the nature of the legitimate political layers within France as conceived in the dominant discourse. It will be argued that this is very important in relation to the links with the concept of Europe in the 1980s. Finally, the French concept of nation/state in the 1980s and the pressures on the historically dominant discourse are explored.