French socialists in office: Lessons from Mitterrand and Jospin

Abstract

The return of centre‐left governments in Britain and France and the participation of social‐democratic parties in 13 of 15 EU governments suggest a period of social‐democratic hegemony in Europe. The most surprising return to form in 1997 was that of the French Socialists, apparently discredited only four years previously. This article engages in a longitudinal comparison of two periods of French socialism in power: the Mitterrand presidency, with reference to the early Mauroy government (1981–1983); and the Jospin premiership from June 1997‐June 1998. These periods are compared with reference to changing patterns of State intervention in economic management and public policy, and the capacity for continuing autonomous political action in an age of internationalisation and European integration. In spite of a remarkable continuity of political discourse throughout, the article concludes that the context has evolved radically since the early 1980s, and shows this has posed particular problems of partisan identity and cultural adaptation for the French Socialists.