1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910815385803321

Autore

Howarth David J. <1967->

Titolo

Contemporary France : An Introduction to French Politics and Society / / David Howarth , Georgios Varouxakis

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Hoboken, : Taylor and Francis, 2014

ISBN

0-203-78399-9

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (257 pages)

Disciplina

944.081

944.084

Soggetti

France

France Politics and government 1945-1958

France Politics and government 1995-2007

France Social conditions

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Table of Contents; Map of the regions of (metropolitan) France; Preface; List of abbreviations; Chapter 1 Continuity and change: the ever-lasting past; The French and their past; French republicanism; Socialism; Communism; Gaullism; Liberalism; Chapter 2 French society today; Versions of malaise: from la fracture sociale to l'insécurité; From planning and the trente glorieuses to the state's impotence; A society in prolonged crisis?; Changing patterns of employment and unemployment, and the new kinds of poverty

Foreigners, immigrants and scapegoatsGeographical disparities in crime and insecurity; Elitism, grandes écoles, énarchie and the Paris-provinces divide; Women, gender equality and feminism; Changing family patterns and sexual mores; AIDS in France; Sports, politics and national identity; Chapter 3 The surprisingly stable Fifth Republic; De Gaulle, the founder; The political conditions of stability; The dual (bicephalous) political executive; The three periods of cohabitation; The weak parliament; Reforming the 'all-powerful' administration?; The énarques: the French elite

Local government: the state of decentralisation 20 years onThe new



importance of French regions; Corsica: a new special status for the Île de Beauté; The DOM-TOMs: les confettis de l'empire; The Fifth Estate in France: the French media; Conclusion; Chapter 4 Political forces and representation; Political parties; The 2002 presidential and legislative elections; Jacques Chirac: a controversial political survivor; Organised interests; New social movements; Another May '68?; Representation issues: fewer white males please ...; Conclusion; Chapter 5 Citizenship, nationalism and national identity

The complexities of French nationalism: nationalisme ouvert and nationalisme fermé?'Republican nationalism'; 'Nationalism of the right'; The Union sacrée and the merger of the two nationalisms; Révolution nationale, resistance and de Gaulle's nationalism; Citizenship, nationality and multiculturalism; Immigration; 'Integration' of immigrants; Chapter 6 Intellectual life; The emergence and roles of the intellectuels; 1945-68: the intellectuel engagé and the compagnon de route; The dominance of Marxism, existentialo-Marxism and Sovietophilia; The new fad: tiersmondisme; Dissenting voices

New challenges: Foucault and the 'specific intellectual'Bourdieu: l'intellectuel dominant?; Les années Débat and the declaration of war on Sartre's conception of the intellectual; Médiocratie and the intellectuel médiatique; The institutional and geographical framework of intellectual life: revues, écoles, publishing and the Parisian Rive Gauche; Chapter 7 Education, youth and popular culture; The French education system; Catholic schools: the lingering private/public divide; Universities; Grandes écoles: la crème de la crème; What are the social attitudes of French youth today?

Recent developments in French pop culture

Sommario/riassunto

At least since the French Revolution, France has the peculair distinction of simultaneously fascinating, charming and exasperating its neighbours and foreign observers. Contemporary France provides an essential introduction for students of French politics and society, exploring contemporary developments while placing them in a deeper historical, intellectual, cultural and social context that makes for insightful analysis. Thus, chapters on France's economic policy and welfare state, its foreign and European policies and its political movements and recent institutional developments are informed