Abstract
The article analyses the processes which conditioned the outcome of the 1995 presidential election in France. By a fresh evaluation of four frequently made propositions, namely (1) the presidential contest is above party politics, (2) presidential candidacy is pre-eminently about individual leadership, (3) the confrontation is between the incumbent (or his surrogates) and one or more 'challengers', and (4) this confrontation reinforces political polarisation, the unique configuration of the current French polity is delineated. In conclusion, the interaction between social and political fractures is shown to have been crucial to Chirac's victory.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 151-167 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | West European Politics |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1996 |