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Abstract
The aim of this paper is to test the hypothesis that the opening of a European political space and the Europeanization of parties create a favourable arena for populist speech, themes and perhaps ideology, especially in the case of anti-EU parties. To do this, a quantitative study of populist speeches in French pro- and anti-EU party Euromanifestos has been conducted for the 1999 and 2004 European elections. It contributes to the scientific debate regarding the possible rise of a new political cleavage resulting from the European issue. Our comparative content analysis based on a coding system of populist discourse shows that there are no systematic links between the position of French parties towards the EU and their use of populist arguments, but a variety of relations, linked to the position of the parties within the party system as well as to the right/left cleavage. European issues are integrated in the ideologies and identities of the parties and only produce moderate effects on populist speeches. Therefore, party practices and speeches are stable. In some cases, what is evidenced is not a rise or a transformation of populist discourse, but national discourse patterns adapted to a European context and a phenomenon of Europeanization of certain populist themes.
Notes
We have eliminated the terms “eurosceptic” as well as “anti-european(ist)” as they seemed inaccurate: French anti-EU parties are not skeptical or doubtful about the EU but more often clearly opposed to the UE. Nevertheless, they are not necessarily opposed to the process of a European construction itself.
The selection of excerpts and coding procedure are developed in the methodological appendix. Our coding schedule is largely inspired by the Jagers and Walgrave study, but our indexes and categories are composed differently. (Cf. Methodological appendix).
A short presentation of the parties' situation in the French party system can be useful: the LCR (Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire) and the LO (Lutte Ouvrière) are both anti-EU far-left parties. In 1999 and 2004 they formed a coalition for the European elections. The PCF (Parti communiste français) is the French communist party and the PS (Parti socialiste) is a Socialist organisation. Between 1999 and 2004 two right-wing parties have changed their names: the mainstream party RPR (Rassemblement pour la République) has become UMP (Union pour une Majorité présidentielle) for the 2002 presidential election, and the right-wing anti-EU party RPF (Rassemblement pour la France) split. Most of its member stayed in the MPF (Mouvement pour la France). They are referred to as RPF/MPF and RPR/UMP. The last party is the FN (Front national), the largest French extreme right party.
The anti-elite index presented here, besides the criticism of the political elite, is composed of another category that is focused on the economic and financial elite; however it is not significant for pro-EU parties. This part of the index is analyzed in Part II.
In the PS Euromanifesto from the île de France region, the researcher has also identified a criticism of the European right. This marks, or even foreshadows, the Europeanization of the political space and party system.
As it previously explained, the new “UMP” has incorporated the “RPR” into its rank. Party personnel and ideology have not fundamentally changed in the transition from RPR to UMP.
The ballot type was changed for the 2004 European election into 8 regional constituencies. For the PS and UMP, only the part of the manifesto harmonized at the national level has been coded. However, in coding the regional part of the PS île-de-France manifesto, it appears that the discourse devoted to a national critique of the right-wing party or of the government is very weak (3.70% of the document); there is no evidence of criticism of European institutions. These data remain similar to date from the UMP.
From 1999 to 2004, PCF, MPF and FN have MEPs, in the GUE-NGL for PCF, ID group for MPF, respectively. After having belonged to the UEN, FN-elected representatives are now non-attached members.
It should be noted that the attitude towards democracy, our third index, follows the same logic as the anti-elite index and substantiates the previous observations of the study.
Français d'abord is the name of the party newspaper and can be understood either as “Frenchmen first” or “French first”.
The nationalization of stakes can be clearly observed in the motives given by PCF to vote at this European election. Two of them are devoted to a national criticism of the French right: We propose you to vote to: inflict on the Right and Chirac-Raffarin government the sanction which… and to firmly repulse the far-right, full of hatred and exclusions.
The two manifestos coded have been produced for the legislative elections of 1997 and 2002, while European elections settled in 1999 and 2004.
“The four” points at RPR,UDF,PS and PCF, the leftist and rightist mainstream parties and their allies.
The 1999 Euromanifesto opposes a new “worrying” immigration compared to the previous immigration “of honest people”.
