In 1981, in uneasy alliance with the Communists and amidst a storm of revolutionary rhetoric, the French Socialist party came to power for the first time since the founding of the Fifth Republic. The only full-length study of the subject yet written, this book looks at the realities beyond the rhetoric--how the Left came to power, what the Socialists achieved in the way of social change, where they failed to diverge from policies associated with the Right, and what lasting impact their brief tenure is likely to have on French and European politics.
Figures and Tables Abbreviations Preface Victory in 1981: The Long March of the Socialists, by Patrick McCarthy Economic Policy, by Volkmar Lauber Foreign and Security Policy, by Michael M. Harrison Education: Cultural Persistence and Institutional Change, by Michalina Vaughan Decentralization: A Revolutionary Reform, by Vivien A. Schmidt Labor and the Left in Power: Commissions, Omissions and Unintended Consequences, by George Ross Racial Politics: The Rise of the National Front, by Martin A. Schain The Communist Party: Out of the Frying Pan, by D.S.Bell and Byron Criddle The Parti Socialiste in 1986, by Patrick McCarthy Selected Bibliography Index About the Contributors
