First published in 1984, Continuity and Change in France sets out to explore questions by examining the many features of the Giscard presidency which have endured under Socialist rule. Few people predicted the election victory of Francois Mitterrand over Giscard d’ Estaing in May 1981. It was greeted, by his supporters at least, as the first remarkable event in a chain of far-reaching changes which would transform France. However, it has gradually become clear that political change does not come easily to modern France and that continuity is at least as important.
This book is at once a valuable review of the 1974- 81 period as well as a revealing account of what has changed since then and what, despite the rhetoric, has not. The contributors cover a number of areas important to French presidency and demonstrate the existence of a surprising degree of continuity in terms of both policy and personnel. They will be welcomed by all students of French politics as providing the basis for a fuller assessment of the successes and shortcomings of the Mitterrand years.
Preface List of Contributors Introduction: The Change in France V. Wright 1. The President's Men: Advisors and Assistants at the Elysee Palace H. Machin 2. The Giscardians- The Republican Party Ella Searls 3. The Giscardian Political- Administrative Elite P. Birnbaum 4. The Social Policies of Giscard D’ Estaing X. Gardette 5. Industrial Policy and Policy -Making, 1974-82 Diana Green 6. From Planning the French Economy to Planning the French State: The Theory and Practice of the Priority Action Programmes J. Hayward 7. The Presidency and the Media, 1974-82 R. Kuhn 8. Central Control and Local Resistance Yves Meny 9. Europeanisation and the Pursuit of National Interests R. Formesyn Index
Biography
Vincent Wright
