This week we’re examining the state of social democracy in France. Why has it failed so badly in recent years? And what are its prospects for revival?
In a turbulent political summer, few surprises were greater than that caused by French president Emmanuel Macron’s decision in June to call early parliamentary elections. Macron’s party had just been trounced in the European Parliament elections; and victory for the far right seemed likely. In the end, thanks to some last minute deals, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally did not win. Rather, it was an alliance of the left that secured most seats in the National Assembly.
France’s Socialist Party was regularly in power from the early 1980s till the mid 2010s. But it collapsed spectacularly in the elections of 2017, and its very survival today seems in doubt. So what has been going on? And have the recent elections brought any signs of revival?
Joining us to explore these questions is Philippe Marlière, Professor of French and European Politics in the UCL European and International Social and Political Studies department.
This episode of UCL Uncovering Politics is the first in an occasional series of episodes based on pieces in Political Quarterly.
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