POLITICAL PARTIES OF FRANCE

for poll March 2006 see (http://www.ifop.com/europe/sondages/opinionf/popujdd0306.asp)

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At the heart of the French conflictual political culture is the multi-party system. Many parties have come and gone, but the basic distinction between "left" and "right" define each party's role in government. Until the Fifth Republic, parties have been weak and unstable, with party membership low. Even today, few voters are members of political parties. Currently, under the government of the Fifth Republic, the parties have stabilized and appear to be forming longer-last coalitions than during the Third and Fourth Republics, but at least five major political parties still are important in determining policy and defining voter behavior.

ON THE LEFT:

THE COMMUNIST PARTY (THE PCF)

2002 First Round Results: 4.9%

Until the late 1970s the Communist party was a major force in French politics, despite the fact that it has never had significant representation on the cabinet. It began in 1920 under the direct tutelage of the U.S.S.R., and has continued to be influenced by the Leninist principle of democratic centralism. During most of the Fourth Republic, it was the dominant party on the left, garnering between 19 and 26% of votes in parliamentary elections. True to its Marxian roots, it sees itself as the party of the blue-collar workers, and it is strongest in industrial areas of the North. Today, the party is reduced to a minor party with less than 5% of voters supporting it. Its demise is due party to the general downturns of communism is eastern Europe, the dissipation of the Soviet Union, and the growing strength of its rival, the Socialist Party.

THE SOCIALIST PARTY (THE PS)

2002 Results: 24.1%

The solid agricultural base of the French economy and the slow pace of industrialization prevented the Socialist party from developing a solid base of support since its founding in 1905. The party was transformed in the early 1970s by a new "strong man", Francois Mitterrand. Before taking the leadership of the newly recreated Socialist party, he had opposed the rightist "strong man" , Charles De Gaulle and his constitution of 1958. Although Mitterrand was anticapitalist, he strengthened the party by broadening its appeal on the left by including two communist ministers and including an appeal to intellectuals. As a result, the popularity of the party grew, many socialist deputies were elected to the Naitonal Assembly, and Mitterrand was elected President in 1981 and 1988. In recent years, the party's popularity slipped along with that of Mitterrand, as the French economy failed to respond to socialist remedies. The Socialists suffered dramatic losses in the parliamentary elections of 1993, and were unable to come up with a successful presidential candidate in 1995.

Green Party - 2002 Results: 4.2%

This party has been eroding the support of the PCF and PS for some years. It makes appeals on the basis of environmentalism, against all things nuclear, and is generally dovish on foreign policy.

Far Left - 2002 Results: 2.8%

An assortment of Trotskyists, Maoists and other mildly revolutionary elements.

THE RIGHT:

THE RALLY FOR THE REPUBLIC (RPR)

This party was replaced by the Union for the Presidential Majority (UMP -Union pour la majorité presidentielle)) in 2002 which also brought in part of the UDF.
2002 Results: 33.4

The RPR was originally the Gaullist party, formed around the charisma of strong man Charles De Gaulle after his return to power in 1958. Although parties of the right are ideologically distinct from parties on the left, the Gaullist party is an excellent example of the factional nature of French parties based on loyalty to individual leaders. De Gaulle disdained political parties and had little to do with the founding of the party, but his prime minister, Georges Pompidou, encouraged a more carefully organized political party based on Gaullist principles of strong executive leadership, opposition to big government and socialism, control of budget deficits, and limits to the power of bureaucracy. The party rapidly gained support and survived De Gaulle's retirement when Pompidou became President of France. In 1974 the party was reorganized as the RPR under the leadership of Jacques Chirac who later became Prime Minister and eventually President in 1995. The party lost popularity during the 1980s as the Socialists gained power, but recently has regained strength in the parliamentary elections of 1993 and presidential election of 1995 at least partially because of its successful coalition with the UDF.

THE UNION FOR FRENCH DEMOCRACY (UDF)

2002 Results: 4.8%

This party was partly absorbed by the UMP in 2002

The UDF was formed in 1978 as an alliance of the Republican party (PR) and several small groups that advocated a move toward the political center. The Republican leader, Giscard d'Estaing, was president of France in the 1970s, and the party drew much of its strength from his personality. The centrist federation recently united in coalition with the RPR, and the coalition managed to defeat the Socialists soundly in the parliamentary elections of 1993.

THE NATIONAL FRONT

2002 Results: 12.6%

The National Front was founded in 1972 by Jean-Marie Le Pen, and remained relatively obscure until the 1980s. In the parliamentary elections of the 1980s, the National Front gained support, winning 14.4 percent of the toal vote in 1988. The membership is characterized as being far right with a focus on law and order and anti-immigration. Le Pen emphasizes French nationalism and wants stricter controls on immigration, particularly from Islamic countries. Although the party's support had dwindled by 1993, it still remains an important force on the far right.

2002: Results for the First Round

Communist Party	4,90
Socialist Party	24,12
PRG	1,59
DVG	1,16
Greens	4,20
Pôle républicain	1,11
All government Left	37,08
Extreme Leftwing	2,80
*All Left*	*39,88*
UDF	4,80
UMP	33,36
DVD	3,73
DL	0,46
RPF	0,31
MPF	0,84
All government Right	43,50
FN/MNR/various extreme Rightwing	12,55
*All Right*	*56,05*
CPNT	1,86
No allegiance	0,74
Various ecologists	1,13
Regionalists	0,34

2002: Results for the Second Round

Communist Party	3.29
Socialist Party	35.55
DVG, PRG, Pôle républicain	3.18
Greens	3.23
Total government left	45.25
UDF	3.90
UMP	47.30
DVD, RPF	1.66
Total government right	52.86
FN	1.87
*Total Right*	*54.73*

Evolution of Left/Right Party Outcomes

Elections	Left	Right	Difference (in points)
23 November 1958	43.59	56.40	12.81
18 November 1962	43.75	56.18	14.43
5 March 1967	43.62	56.36	12.74
23 June 1968	40.52	58.94	18.42
4 March 1973	45.84	54.16	8.32
12 March 1978	52.24	47.48	4.76
14 June 1981	56.72	43.20	13.52
16 March 1986	45.56	54.63	9.07
5 June 1988	49.44	50.44	1
21 March 1993	42.09	56.98	14.89
25 May1997	46.18	51.19	5.01
9 June 2002	39.88	56.05	16.17
Average 1958-1978	44.93	54.92	9.99
Average 1981-2002	46.8	52.08	5.28
Average 1958-2002	45.87	53.5	7.63

For additional details see: http://www.robert-schuman.org/anglais/oee/france/resultats/default2.htm