The Mitterrand Era

This anthology examines the effects of economic orthodoxy on the French left. A decade after the governing left relinquished plans to 'transform society', French social actors have indeed changed. They have adapted to economic orthodoxy and to a new political mainstream. Various essays examine the political impact of economic forces. They explore the relationships between left parties and organized labour. The book also looks at new forms of political mobilization around gender, immigration, and environmental issues.

"A balanced, yet critical, review of Mitterrand's fourteen-year presidency. Friend has crowned a long career as an expert on French politics with this astute analysis and assessment of a decisive chapter in the history of French Socialism. This is contemporary history at its best." —Richard Kuisel SUNY, Stony Brook "An intelligent and highly readable account of the Mitterrand years that, Friend argues, have changed the political landscape of France. ... A very good example of instant history" —Fritz Stern Foreign Affairs In this informed and balanced treatment of recent French history, Julius Friend analyzes the changes, successes, and failures in the long and checkered record of the former French president, Francois Mitterrand. Extensive interviews with French politicians and intellectuals complement his original research. Mitterrand was in office longer than any other democratic president, but Friend asks lis to consider the legacy of such a term. Elected in 1981 on a platform of radical reorganization of the French economy and society, Mitterrand was compelled to change policy within two years. Conventional austerity replaced socialist measures, and his second term was spotted by scandal and weakened by illness. The Mitterrand era saw the end of French hopes to be first among equals in Western Europe; instead, Mitterrand inaugurated a partnership with unified Germany in the European Union.

Up-to-date appraisal of the long-serving president's political leadership in the context of a broad overview of French politics and policy since 1945.

Beschrijving van leven en politieke ontwikkeling van de socialistische Franse president (geb. 1916)

The French Defence Debate examines assertions of consensus and continuity in, and surrounding, France's defense since 1958, with primary reference to the political career of François Mitterrand. Mitterrand's influence over defense and security, before and after his election to the presidency, is often underestimated. Nonetheless, his impact was substantial, if ultimately for his lack of concernfor preserving consensus and his reluctance to instigate necessary changes in France's defense--despite the end of the Cold War and the military deficiencies and limitations of national independence it exposed.

Aesthete, sensualist, bookworm, politician of Machiavellian cunning: François Mitterrand was a man of exceptional gifts and exceptional flaws who, during his fourteen years as President, strove to drag his tradition-bound and change-averse country into the modern world. As a statesman and as a human being, he was the incarnation of the mercurial, contrarian France which Britain and America find so perennially frustrating. He embodied the ambiguities and the contradictions of a nation whose modern identity is founded on a stubborn refusal to fit into the Anglo-American scheme of things. Yet he changed France more profoundly than any of his recent predecessors, arguably including even his great rival, Charles de Gaulle. During the war he was both the leader of a resistance movement and decorated for services to the collaborationist regime in Vichy. After flirting with the far Right, he entered parliament with the backing of conservatives and the Catholic Church before becoming the undisputed leader of the Left. As President he brought the French Communists into the government the better to destroy them. And all the while he managed to find time for an extraordinarily complicated private life. This is a human as much as a political biography, and a captivating portrait of a life that mirrored Mitterrand’s times.

A considered look at the Mitterrand presidency as a whole, its place in French history, and the trends for the twenty-first century emerging under Chirac. The fourteen years during which Mitterrand was at the helm ushered in fundamental change in many different domains, as France faced up to new challenges in an increasingly uncertain world. This study evaluates the impact and legacy of the Mitterrand years in the following key areas: the Republic; socialism; Europe and foreign affairs; business and the economy; society; and culture.

The authors examine some of the most popular and some of the most challenging of texts that emerged during Francois Mitterrand's presidency. They relate these texts to the dominant literary and cultural trends of the period.