France

Question 1

Dominant cleavage

Answer 1

Religion (reds vs whites)

Question 2

Weaker cleavage

Answer 2

Class

Question 3

Normal cleavage

Answer 3

Region

Question 4

Fourth republic

Answer 4

1946-1958, fragmentation, polarisation, instable government, colonial wars and close to civil wars

Question 5

Charles de Gaulle

Answer 5

• Resistance leader during WW2;
• Secular;
• Republican;
• Socially conservative;
• Against political parties;
• In favour of strong presidency;
• Head of transition government (1944-1946);
• Last prime-minister of 4th republic;
• First president of 5th republic;

Question 6

Fifth republic

Answer 6

1958 - now, semi presidentialism, strong executive presidency, powerful and dominant state in economy and society, greater political stability than previously.

Question 7

Majoritarianism in the fifth republic

Answer 7

notion of volonte general, majoritarian electoral system, referendums and constitutional judiciary

Question 8

Semi presidential system

Answer 8

• Directly elected president and parliament;
• Prime-minister appointed by president, but can be dismissed
  by parliament;
• Dual executive: president and prime-minister;
• Prime-minister depends on president (outside cohabitation);
• Possibility of divided government: cohabitation;

Question 9

French president

Answer 9

• Formal powers: military, reconsider laws, dissolve parliament, decrees, hold referendums;
• Informal powers: remove prime-minister and cabinet members; can chair council of
  ministers - being a de facto head of government;
• “Cohabitation”: prime-minister from different party - weakens presidency;
• Directly elected (since 1962);
• Term limited from 7 to 5 years (since 2000);
• Maximum of two terms (since 2008);
• A president should not run 2 times in a row;

Question 10

presidential elections

Answer 10

• Majoritarian run-off (tow rounds);
  |
  |—> Round 1: all candidates (absolute majority wins - if not, round 2);
  |—> Round 2: two candidates with most votes in round 1 (absolute majority wins);
• Incites electoral alliances in second round (two bloc system);
• Intra-party primaries (by the members of the party);

Question 11

Parliament - national assembly

Answer 11

• 577 MPs;
• MPs are elected in single-member districts with two-round run-offs;
• Terms of 5 years;
• Stronger of the two houses;
• Propose and vote legislation;

Question 12

Parliament - Senat

Answer 12

• 348 MPs;
• MPs are elected indirectly by local officials and lower-house MPs;
• Terms of 6 years;
• Weaker of the two houses;
• Delay legislation;
• Approve constitutional amendments;

Question 13

Parliamentary elections

Answer 13

• Single-member districts;
• Majoritarian run-off (two rounds);
  |
  |—> Round 1: all candidates (absolute majority wins - if not, round 2);
  |—> Round 2: all candidates with at least 12,5% (plurality or majority wins);
• Winner take-it-all system and disproportionality;
• 1958-1990S: two-bloc party system (2 large, 2 small parties);
• After 2017: party system is changing;

Question 14

Judiciary - constitutional council

Answer 14

• Branches: criminal, civil, administrative;
• Judging based on codification (Napoleon), rather than common law;
• Constitutional council: 9 judges elected for 9 years by president and chairs of houses or
  former presidents;

Question 15

Center right

Answer 15

Since 1958 & Gaullist
Strong centralized state, socially conservative, capitalist and free market, law and order, dominant role in foreign affairs.

Question 16

Center left

Answer 16

dominated by intellectual elite, 1905. went from left to center left, pro welfare state, pro EU integration, now progressive and green

Question 17

Far left

Answer 17

1920 , anti free trade, workers rights, reform of 5th republic, euro skepticism and eco socialism

Question 18

Far right

Answer 18

1972. Nationalist/nativist, populist, anti islam, anti immigrant, anti EU

Question 19

Center

Answer 19

aligned with gaullists, young. Liberalism, free trade and social equality

Question 20

Voorkennis

Answer 20

Continental country with the largest area in the European Union. Quite
centralised state, even though it has regional entities.

Question 21

Protests

Answer 21

XVIII. May’68 Paris protests against the capitalist state and demanding social reforms (1968);
XIX. Withdrawal from NATO military structures (1966-2009);

Question 22

Political culture

Answer 22

• Republicanism;
• Secularism - “Laicité”;
• Democracy;
• Civic nationalism;

Question 23

Religious cleavage

Answer 23

• Dominant cleavage in French politics;
• Separation of state and church - “Laicité”;
• In 1789-1958, there was a struggle between the “reds” (progressive, secular, republican and
  urban) and the “whites” (conservative, catholic, pro-monarchy, rural);
• Strong separation between religion and state codified in 1905;
• More recently: heated discussion about roles of islam;

Question 24

Class cleavage

Answer 24

• Traditionally less important than religion;
• Emerged later (1900s) as a salient cleavage;
• Weakened by working class division on religious cleavage;
• Its gaining more salience now;

Question 25

centre-periphery cleavage

Answer 25

- Almost absent; - Present in Corsica, Brittany, Northern Basque Country, Occitania and oversee collectives like New Caledonia; - Centralist tradition; - Dominant French civic nationalism;

Question 26

Prime minister

Answer 26

- Appointed by president; - Can be dismissed by parliament; - In a “cohabitation”, it is the head of government (appoints and directs cabinet and responds to parliament); - Outside cohabitation: “chief-aide” of president; - Sometimes spring-board to presidency; - Initiate legislation; - Controls parliamentary agenda; - “Block votes” of laws;

Question 27

Local government

Answer 27

- Considered a centralised state; - Classic example of a unitary state; - Nation-building requires centralisation of power - assimilation of ethnic/regional identities; - Regional and local governments are mostly functional and weak (except for Corsica, oversea collectives and New Caledonia); - Full integration of oversea departments and regions; - State-led economy (dirigisme); - Blurred line between bureaucracy, economy, judiciary and politics;

Question 28

Party instability and far right rise

Answer 28

Post-2017 party-system change - 1958-1990s: Two-block system (PCF + PS VS. Gaullists +UDF); - 1990s: Near-collapse of the PCF; - 1990s-2000s: Rise of Front National; - 2017 election: rupture of traditional party system (decline of PS and LR and rise of EM, RN and LFI); | This can lead to… | |—> Realignment - a new cleavage (nationalist/nativist/conservative/protectionist VS. | Internationalist/multiculturalist/progressive/liberal); | |—> Dealignment - distrust towards politics;