Political History/Culture | Political Process | Instititutions | Public Policy | Key Terms

FRANCE

political history/culture

Historical Background

• France is weighed down by their history, which is causing problems with the new wave of
  immigration.
• Charles De Gaulle and the 1957 constitution gave more power to the president.
• There have been so many revolutions that people feel there has to be a major upheaval of
  the government to get anything done.
• 1981 Mitterand election was a milestone because of the shift of power from right to left
  did not cause a revolution.
• France is struggling with what it means to be French with all the new immigrants.

Geography

On the continent of Europe, across the English channel from Britain.

Economic Condition

• Economy is prosperous compared to many European countries.
• Open markets
• Gov't becomming less privatized
• People depend on gov't to provide
• High unemployment

Social Condition

• Crime rate rising (natives blame immigration)
• Most of population in urban areas
• Ethnic divisions (a concern)

Ethnic, Caste, and Religious Groups

• Most Catholic (followed by islam)
• Class difference declining
• Muslims want the right to attend state schools but also practice conservative beliefs
  (beliefs contrast secular French beliefs
• Class difference is declining because of current economic and social trends.
• Noticed most among blue collar workers

Ideologies

• Belief that the gov't is responsible for the economy
• Strong participation through strikes or voting

The political process

How Rulers Are Chosen

• Direct popular elections
• Two round elections
  in 1st, if a candidate obtains a majority they are elected, but that has not happened
• 2nd round is a week later; drop all candidates who have less than 12.5% and other
  candidates drop to support other candidates, ultimately only the two most successful
  candidates face each other
• pluarlity of votes insures election
• pressure on political parties to develop electoral alliances
• any candidate for the presidency who owes his nomination to his position as party leader
  must appeal to an audience broader than that of the party
• once a candidate is elected he seeks to establish political distance from his party orgins

Role of Political Parties and Interest Groups

INTEREST GROUPS

• function: to express organized interests
• view Parliament as most convenient means of access to political power
• to be effective, groups use channels that give them direct access to the administration:
  collaboration between interests and state is in advisory committes attached to agencies
  composed of civil servants and group reps (neocorporatism- state plays major role),
  access can be weak
• attempt to pressure political executive
• reorganization by state is important, helps gain influence
• share ideological roots and commitments within political parties
• generally much smaller membership varied by sector
• weakened by ideological divisions because it forces each organization to compete for the
  same clientele in order to establish representative-ness, frequently in question because of
  inability to represent workers

LABOR MOVEMENT & UNIONS

• divided into national confederation of differing political sympathies
• avoid direct organizational ties with political parties
• reliance on the social climate to determine their ability to bargain effectively with the
  state
• declined stteply since 1975
• confidence in unions to defend interests during periods of labor conflict
• most difficulty is dealing with ideological fragmentation which has increased union
  pluralism
• unions maintain only a weak control over the strike weapon, they have difficulty in
  effectively calling strikes and ending them
• depend on general environment, or social climate, in order to support their position
  a. General Confederation of Labor (CGT) oldest and largest group
  b. French Dempcratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT) 2nd strongest group
  c. Workers Force (FO) 3rd major group
  {the most important and influential part of this group is the Federation of National
  Education (FEN), a teachers union, joined with independent unions and formed the
  National Union of Autonomous Unions (UNSA)}
• massive strikes movements have accentuated divisions and rivalries rather than
  provoking unity, hurting unions-causing tem to be even more ineffective

BUSINESS INTERESTS

Rely most on contracts with civil servants for influence

1. National Council of French Employers (CNPF)

• dominated by big business, so small firms feel they are better defended by more
  movement-oriented groups
• conflict of ideas have prevented the union from acting as effectively as it could have

AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS

Rely on contracts with ministerial level for influence

1. National Federation of Agricultural Unions (FNSEA)

• strongly influences the development and implematition of agriculture policy
• an effective instrument for modernizing French agriculture
• able to gain patronage and control key institutions, and to use this to organize and gain
  support from a large proportion of French farmers

POLITICAL PARTIES

• function: to provide an organizational framework for selecting and electing candidates
  for local, departmental, and national offices
• political alignments among citizens remain relatively stable
• organization remians skeletal, was first developed in a pre industrial and pre urban
  environment catering to upper-middle class (framework still exsists today)
• internally created, gradually emerged from groups inside legislature
• has important impact on way that insitutions of the system actually work

Citizen Participation

• political participation has been structured by organized groups and political parties
• abstention, voting, elite
• age, social class, and education are important factors in determining the egree of
  electoral participation (esp. in registration and voting)
• popular election of the president and consultation of the electorate by referendum on
  important issues
• Background:

1. In 1848 electoral law enfranchised all male citizens over 21
2. from 2nd emprie to end of WWII size of electorate remained stable, but more than
   doubled in 1944 when women 21 years and older were granted the right to vote
3. 1974 voting age lowered to 18; 2.5 million more voters
4. in 1995 Chirac passed an amendment that extended to use of referendum to social and
   economic policy

• abstention is the highest in referendums and European elections, and lowest in
  presidential contests

1. linked to change in the party system, has been a declining confidence by voters expressed
   through growing abstention rates
2. during the 1980's leve of abstention increased substantially
3. growing faster among leftist voters

• referendum as a form of public participation is widely favored by the electorate
• presidential elections by direct popular suffrage are the most important expressions of
  what the public wnats
• civil servants run for election to Parliament, most have held a previous political position
• some high civil servants are members of the grand corps, administrative agency, from
  which administrators are drawn
• recruitment base of the highest levels is extremely narrow, childeren of civil servants
  have an advantage (hereditary class)
• Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA) and the Ecole Polytechnique play an essential
  role in recruitment of elites because most members of the grand corps are recruited
  from these ecoles
• grandes evoles and grandes corps produce a majority of the political elite, a relationship
  that provides a structure for an influential elite and survives changes in the political
  orientation of governments, narrowness in recruitment
• women fair better in local elections, representation of women in the elite is the lowest in
  Western Europe
  (left has made greater effort to recruit women, and a clear majority of women vote left)

institutions

Constitution of 1958- De Gaulle made it so that the President became a visible head of state.

The Executive Branch

• France has a two headed ececutive, yet it really has only one head (the President)

PRESIDENT

• Serves 5 year terms
• Directly elected by the people
• Nominates the Prime Minister
• Controls the bureaucracy and Parliament
• Appoints cabinet members
• Commands the armed forces
• Can dissolve the National Aseembly
• In emergencies, he may maintain all powers

PRIME MINISTER

• Serves 5 year terms
• Head od Government and the Council
• Heads the day-to-day activity of the government

COUNCIL OF MINISTER

• Holds weekly meetings of caninet chairs, headed by the President

Legilature

• Two Houses

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (Lower House)

• Directly elected
• 577 members
• 5 years terms
• Can be dissolved at any time by the President, just not twice in one year
• Meet in 9 month sessions once a year
• In order to overthrow the government, an explicit motion must be formulated and
  passed by more than 1/2 the members of the house. However, even after a motion of
  censure is passed, the gov't may resist the pressure to resign, and dissolve the Assembly

SENATE (Upper House)

• 321 members
• Elected indirectly, and serve 9 year terms (one-third elected every three years)
• Center parties are better represented in the Senate
• Can do little more than delay legislation approved by the government and passed by the
  National Assembly

Passing Legislation

• Either house may propose a bill, however, most bills are proposed by the government, who
  control both houses
• The Prime Minister may pledge the "government's responsibility" on any bill submitted
  to the National Assembly, and in which case, the bill is automatically considered adopted
• If the two houses disagree on impending legislation, a joint committee is appointed, if
  not reconciled, the government resubmits the law to the National Assembly for a vote,
  so in reality, the National Assembly has the last word in the event of a disagreement
• The government can also pass a blocked vote in which is forces parliament to accept a
  bill in its entirety with only amendments agreed to by the government
• The Prime Minister may also pledge the "government's responsibility" on any bill
  submitted to the National Assembly, making the bill automatically adopted.

Checks and Balances

• In Frnace, there is no traditional judicial review

CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL

• Before Parliament passes a bill, it is passed to the Constitutional Council, who reviews
  the legislation and decides whether or not it conforms to the constitution
• The President from both houses of Parliament each choose 3 members to join the
  Council, and the President chooses an additional 3 members, each member serves a
  9-year term
• High public approval (72% approval rating)

COUNCIL OF STATE

• The government consults the Council of State on all bills before they are submitted to
  Parliament, and on government regulations and decrees before they are enacted.
• Unlike the Constitutional Council, however, the Council of State's advice isn't bonding.
• The Council of State also interprets the constitutional text (it also provides recourse to
  citizens who claims against the administration)

Public policy

Establishment of Iternal Order

• organizations of political life has been largely defined within the historical cleavages of
  class and religious traditions. French interest groups tend to demonstrate a degree of
  radicalism rare in other equally developed countries
• workers still maintain confidence in unions to defend their interests during a period of
  labor conflict (strikes of 1995, support for workers higher than support for government)
• high levels of unemployment and poverty increasing problems of homelessness
• trying to reduce public spending and as a result are having limited success in the
  maintaining of sufficient welfare state services

External Security

• government cutting public spending to reduce budgest deficit to conform to the criteria
  for obtaining the common European currency
• breached the supposedly inviolate ceiling for budget defictis of 3% GDP
• recently working together with Germany in an economic-reform program. Want to be
  taken very seriously and regarded as a leader within the European Union
• French-German effort to press ahead with separate EU defense identity. (EU countries
  hesitant about this, fearing that it might undermine NATO)
• Stood against American-led drive to wage war on Saddam Hussein

Resolving Conflict Between Different Groups

• Major crisis with Islamic traditions. Formerly a heterogeneous society and is unused to
  necessary toleration to immigrant cultures. Head scarf debacle is unproductive
• Le Pen and the National Front v. Immigrant labor population. The National Front is
  greatly supported by blue-color, native French citizens who fell threatended by the
  incoming crowds of immigrants. Le Pen exceeds the first round! (Embarrassing to France)

Raising Money to Pay for Services

• The amount of taxes is within the Mid-range on the European outlook. They surpass UK
  and Germany rates but all well below Swedish standards. Until recently, the French
  state has been mostly overseen by the socialist thus the degree of taxation is higher than
  more capitalistic nations
• The share of indirect taxes remains higher in France than in other industrialized
  countries which drives up prices and affects the poor the most

Services Provided By The Government

• few cutbacks in welfare state programs bu financing them has been at the heart of
  government matters since 1995
• unemployment and poverty create pressures to expand social programs while
  deminishing revenues to fund them
• full health benefits depend on insurance coverage provided to some but not all in the
  workforce
• several waves of nationalization in the 1930's so the government nationalized
  considerable amounts of industry therefore substantial % of people are being paid by
  the government
• leftist Common Program goals were to enlarge the public sector because they considered
  it a vehicle for modernizing the nation with an uneven development and effective for
  planning
• the conservative government of 1986 returns many companies nationalized by the
  socialists in 1982 to the private stockholders
• deregulation of the economy begun by the Socialist and continued by the conservatives
  more significant than privatization
• current major nationalized industries: Air France (has been forced to compete within its
  market though government has granted it large subsidies), railways, and communication

Regulating The Behavior Of Citizens

• In the 1970's France expanded individual rights by fully establishing rights to divorce
  and abortion
• In the 1980's capital punishment is abolished and other criminal justice reforms such as
  refurbished Criminal Code
• individual right in France must conform to the decisions of the European Courts
• environmental controls such as limitations on smoking
• regulation on foreign residents- diminished individual rights

Key terms

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