Introduction

France was for a long time a country whose politics were dominated by conflict, where radicalism was prevalent and where political parties and pressure groups were often influenced by controversial ideologies. Strongly identified with a tradition of revolution and counter-revolution, class antagonism was expressed particularly clearly; Friedrich Engels commented in 1885 that Trance is the land where, more than anywhere else, the historical class straggles are each time fought out to a decision, and where, consequently, the changing political forms in which they move… have been stamped in the sharpest outlines’. ¹ Between the revolution of 1789 and the end of the Second World War, all political regimes without exception had been brought to an end by revolution, coup d’état or war. In the period between the Second World War and the 1980s, France still retained its radicalism, with a strong Communist Party, frequent revolts by forces of both right and left, governmental crises and de Gaulle’s authoritarian populism which firmly left its stamp on the constitution of the Fifth Republic. In contrast to many other advanced capitalist countries during the post-1945 period, France did not see the emergence of more consensual politics where dominant parties of the left and right were broadly in agreement. The last twenty years of the twentieth century, however, stand out in striking contrast to the past. The Communist Party has been seriously weakened, as has the communist-oriented - trade union confederation, the Confédération générale du travail; Gaullism has a severe identity problem; the constitution of the Fifth Republic is now accepted by almost all forces of both left and right as the best way for France to order its formal politics; and the governmental scene has been largely dominated by a centre-oriented Socialist Party which has sought to be pragmatic and catch-all rather than to effect far-reaching transformations; centre-right governments have taken a similar approach; ‘cohabitation’ between a government of one complexion and a president of the Republic of another is now taken for granted; industrial relations in general are calmer than at any time since 1945, with trade unions suffering a serious drop in membership and a decline in rank-and-file militancy, and employers are more conciliatory than has long been their practice.