Political Representation in France: A Crisis of Democracy?

The past two decades have witnessed growing political disaffection and a widening mass/elite disjuncture in France, reflected in opinion polls, rising abstentionism, electoral volatility and fragmentation, with sustained voting against incumbent governments. Though the electoral system has preserved...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parliamentary affairs 2006-01, Vol.59 (1), p.118-137
Main Author: Shields, J G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Democracy
Electoral Systems
France
Legislative Bodies
Parliament
Parliamentary Systems
Political Attitudes
Political behavior
Political crises
Political institutions
Political Parties
Political regimes
Political Representation
Political theory
Voter behavior
Voting Behavior
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Summary:The past two decades have witnessed growing political disaffection and a widening mass/elite disjuncture in France, reflected in opinion polls, rising abstentionism, electoral volatility and fragmentation, with sustained voting against incumbent governments. Though the electoral system has preserved the duopoly of the mainstream coalitions, they have suffered loss of public confidence and swings in electoral support. Stable parliamentary majorities conceal a political landscape of assorted anti-system parties and growing support for far right and far left. The picture is paradoxical: the French express alienation from political parties yet relate positively to their political institutions; they berate national politicians but retain strong bonds with those elected locally; they appear increasingly disengaged from politics yet forms of ‘direct democracy’ are finding new vigour. While the electoral, attitudinal and systemic factors reviewed here may not signal a crisis of democracy, they point to serious problems of political representation in contemporary France.
ISSN:0031-2290
1460-2482
DOI:10.1093/pa/gsj013