The French Voter: Before and After the 2002 Elections (French Politics, Society and Culture)

Why do French voters vote the way they do? In this book, leading international scholars examine this question from many different angles. Special attention is given to the 2002 national elections, when right-wing extremist Le Pen made such a spectacular showing in the presidential contest. Was the first-ballot success of Le Pen based on issues of law and order, ethnicity, nationalism or on the economy? What about the role of the traditional factors of social class, region, religion and left-right ideology? Do the peculiar electoral institutions of the Fifth Republic foster political extremism, or act as a break on it? The French Voter considers these issues both in relation to the 2002 contest and past elections. French Elections Are Often Considered To Be Exotic, With Many Extreme Parties Left And Right Manoeuvring To Produce Unpredictable, Explosive Outcomes. The 2002 Presidential Election, When Right-wing National Front Extremist Jean-marie Le Pen Beat Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin In The First Round Of The Presidential Contest Is The Most Recent Contest In Support Of That View. However, As This Book Shows, The French Voter Is A Political Animal That Can Be Explained, Despite Its Sometimes Exotic Colouring. Traditional Factors, Such As Region, Religion, Class, And Enduring Partisan Ties Do Much To Make The French Voter Predictable, Regardless Of The Special Circumstances Of A Particular National Election. In Addition, The Unusual French Political Institutions - A Dual Executive Of President And Prime Minister, Cohabitation, A Two-round Voting System - Operate To Constrain The Electorate, Even In The Face Of Strong Economic And Social Issues. Nevertheless The 2002 Contest Challenged Certain Orthodoxies Of The French Political System. The French Voter Attempts To Explain The Continuities In The National Elections Of The Fifth Republic, While At The Same Time Recognizing - And Trying To Absorb - The Shocks Of The 2002 Results.--jacket. French Election Theories And The 2002 Results : An Introduction / Michael S. Lewis-beck -- France's 2002 Presidential Elections : Earlier And Later Territorial Fractures / Annie Laurent -- Do Issues Matter? Law And Order In The 2002 French Presidential Election / Nonna Mayer And Vincent Tiberj -- Ideology And Party Identification : A Normalisation Of French Voting Anchors? / Jocelyn A.j. Evans -- Old Wine In New Bottles? New Wine In Old Bottles? Class, Religion And Vote In The French Electorate -- The 2002 Elections In Time Perspective / Bruno Cautrès -- Strategic Voting In The 2002 French Presidential Election / André Blais -- Institutions And Voters : Structuring Electoral Choice / Robert Elgie -- Could There Have Possibly Been Economic Voting? / Guy D. Whitten -- Dual Governance And Economic Voting : France And The United States / Michael S. Lewis-beck And Richard Nadeau -- Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place : Electoral Dilemmas And Turnout In The 2002 French Legislative Elections / Thomas Gschwend And Dirk Leuffen -- Forecasting The 2002 Elections : Lessons From A Political Economy Model / Bruno Jérôme And Veronique Jérôme-speziari -- Vote Functions In France And The 2002 Election Forecast / Eric Dubois And Christine Fauvelle-aymar -- National Economic Voting In France : Objective Versus Subjective Measures / Éric Bélanger And Michael S. Lewis-beck. Edited By Michael S. Lewis-beck. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. French elections are often considered to be exotic, with many extreme parties left and right manoeuvring to produce unpredictable, explosive outcomes. The 2002 presidential election, when right-wing National Front extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen beat Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin in the first round of the presidential contest, is the most recent contest in support of that view. However, as this book shows, the French voter is a political animal that can be explained, despite its sometimes exotic colouring. Traditional factors, such as region, religion, class, and enduring partisan ties do much to make the French voter predictable, regardless of the special circumstances of a particular national election. In addition, the unusual French political institutions - a dual executive of president and prime minister, cohabitation, a two-round voting system - operate to constrain the electorate, even in the face of strong economic and social issues. Nevertheless, the 2002 contests challenged certain orthodoxies of the French political system. The French Voter attempts to explain the continuities in the national elections of the Fifth Republic, while at the same time recognizing - and trying to absorb - the shocks of the 2002 results