Nick Hewlett

Voting in the Shadow of the Crisis. The French Presidential and Parliamentary Elections of 2012

The most significant result of the 2012 elections in France was the ejection of Nicolas Sarkozy from the Elysée Palace, in part because of his unpopularity as an individual but also because his policies often seemed to benefit the rich at the expense of the poor. The victory of François Hollande in the presidential elections and the Socialists in the parliamentary elections was also historic, because this was the first time since 1995 that there has been both Socialist President and a mainly Socialist government. The Socialist manifesto included promises of economic growth, progressive taxation, capping certain high salaries, job creation and a lower age of retirement. All this put France at odds to some extent with the dominant countries in Europe. Indeed, the economic crisis is crucial to understanding the election campaign and results and almost a third of the electorate voted either to the right or to the left of mainstream parties. The extreme right Front national did particularly well, campaigning on issues of national identity, law and order, and immigration, in particular. Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the Front de gauche set out to be the antithesis of Le Pen, and also often appealed to voters disillusioned by mainstream left and who were particularly hard-hit by the crisis. It seemed as if the more traditional working class was beginning to assert itself as a real political actor again.

Engagement and transcendence: the militant philosophy of Alain Badiou

Alain Badious thought combines reflexions on notions of the event, subject, truth and being, in a system that is among the most innovative in Western philosophy today. Influenced both by classical philosophy and by modern French theorists such as Althusser and Lacan, Badiou insists nevertheless that philosophy must learn to be a tool that is subordinate to, albeit uniquely placed to understand, developments in the crucial realms of science, art, emancipatory politics and love. His theory is also shaped by many years of political activism, broadly speaking in a spirit of faithfulness to the legacy of May 1968. All of this constitutes a considerable departure from much contemporary philosophy, which, in one way or another, tends to confirm the legitimacy of the established order. However, despite Badious intention to explain change in the form of events and their consequences, his theory does not seem able to account adequately for movement, which is a serious shortcoming.

New technology and banking employment in the EEC

Abstract Retail banking is traditionally highly labour-intensive and employment in the industry has been rising steadily for many years. However, new technology is now being introduced which is beginning to have an impact on levels of employment. In the European Economic Community it is likely that productivity will increase only slightly faster than demand up to 1990 and that employment will not fall substantially. After that date, it will almost certainly fall faster. Negotiations between management and unions, at a national and international level, should ensure that the introduction of new labour-saving technology be complemented by reductions in working time and the creation of more stimulating, labour-intensive positions.

Nicolas Sarkozy and the Legacy of Bonapartism. The French Presidential and Parliamentary Elections of 2007

The victory of Nicolas Sarkozy and his party in the elections of 2007 is best explained by reference to the notion of Bonapartism, which has a long history in French politics. Sarkozys authoritarian populism, with its right- and far-right-leaning ideology and programme, nevertheless has eclectic references, which helped undermine other candidates and parties. In particular, the National Front was greatly weakened by Sarkozy, as he carefully incorporated into his campaign language and views which would appeal to FN voters. The Socialists, meanwhile, were fraught with divisions and despite Ségolène Royal emerging from the elections with a respectable result and the PS overall with an increased number of seats in the Assemblée nationale, they were well short of victory. This will produce further self-analysis for the PS and questions as to how to re-invent the party as a more credible governmental force. The elections were disappointing for the far left, particularly after the strong results in 2002, but voters were more cautious in 2007, keen to avoid the near-farce of the 2002 presidential second round.

New voices, new stage, new democracies?

This article examines the emergence and growth of various protest movements in France over the past decade and attempts to explain their success by locating them both within the countrys current political economy and within that of advanced capitalist countries more generally. It suggests that however diverse the movements might be, there are certainly common themes, and, in particular, there is widespread opposition to neo‐liberal economic policy and its social consequences. The article also discusses contemporary theories that address the question of the nature of todays global political economy and social structures, interpret the contemporary socio‐economic and political era as being quite different from the postwar period, and that shed some light on the significance and potential of the protest movements. Finally, it explores the idea that activists in recent years have often implicitly or explicitly campaigned for deeper democracy, to the extent that they have argued for a far greater ongoing role for ordinary people in politics.

The phantom revolution. The presidential and parliamentary elections of 2017

Abstract The 2017 Presidential elections in France brought victory for President Emmanuel Macron, founder of a new party declaring itself above left and right, La République en Marche. The Parliamentary elections confirmed this success and brought an absolute majority of députés in support of the new president. Macron appointed a prime minister from the centre right, and ministers from both the centre left and centre right, alongside others who were non-aligned. But this attempt to go beyond traditional cleavages is not in fact the departure it has been described as by Macron and his allies, and it has much in common with the general orientation of many governments over the past few decades, of both left and right. In particular, it is highly neo-liberal, pro-business and at the same time socially liberal. Moreover, just as important as the governmental consequences of the elections are other aspects of the results, which may be of great long-term significance; these include the strong support for the Front national and Marine Le Pen, substantial support for alternative left Jean-Luc Mélenchon and La France Insoumise, record-high levels of spoiled ballots and abstentions, not to mention the historic defeat of the Parti socialiste and its consequent disarray.

Disorder, les forces de l’ordre and the re-ordering of capitalism in May-June 1968

Abstract The uprising of May–June 1968 in France is known for its intense street battles between demonstrators and police. But, despite the intensity of the clashes and the thousands of injuries sustained, it is also known for the relatively small number of deaths; this is perhaps particularly surprising given France’s history of ferocious and lethal state repression in moments of protest and revolution. An examination of the ways in which those deploying the police reacted to profound social and political crisis reveals much about how different individuals and factions conceived of the nature of the status quo in 1968, and their views on whether the established order could be allowed to adapt without threatening its very existence. This was, in short, a struggle between many actors over what constituted order and what constituted disorder. Discussion of the role of Prefect of Police for the Paris region, Maurice Grimaud, is crucial, but it is also important to look at the part played by the Communist Party and the trade unions and the way the various players approached the process of change and, arguably, the process of ‘modernisation’.

Marx, Engels, and the Ethics of Violence in Revolt

Marx and Engelss thought—combined with the way in which it has been interpreted—has tended to militate against discussion of an ethics of violence in revolt. Along with Sorel and Fanon, their attitude towards violence is often seen simply as one where the ends justify the means and where violence in pursuit of a just society is necessarily defensible. However, we can (and should) look to certain sources within Marx and Engels for inspiration for an ethics of violence in revolt, which places emphasis on the humanizing aspects of their work, on the core ideas of freedom, moving beyond dehumanization and moving beyond violence. I argue that this approach suggests an abhorrence of any violence and can thus be combined with a pacifist-influenced approach to the ethics of violence in revolt. This is compatible with Ernst Blochs interpretation of Marxism, which he describes as “concrete utopianism.” Classical Marxism can, then, offer fruitful pointers to an ethics of violence in political change, although Marx and Engelss texts must be used with considerable care and must be combined with the work of other thinkers, in particular those who display more explicit moral objection to violence of any kind.

Introduction: Intellectuals, ideas, commitment … nouveaux combats?

This special issue dealing with intellectuals and ideas focuses on five contemporary figures, Gisèle Halimi, Tzvetan Todorov, Pierre Bourdieu, Alain Badiou and Pierre-André Taguieff. Although these figures are situated in relation to the political, social or ethical issues on which they write (or, in Bourdieu’s case, wrote), there is no intention to give a representation of the wide range of recent movements or currents of thought in French intellectual life. The purpose is to capture aspects of individuals’ work which is of interest in its own right. Still, the question of commitment inevitably arises, since the notion has become inseparable from that of the intellectual in France. It is still impossible to deal with the modern history of French intellectual life without evoking the outspoken activism of Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Michel Foucault, for example. Admittedly, the context has changed substantially since the postwar period and in particular since 1968. Writers working within a poststructuralist framework such as Jacques Derrida and François Lyotard implicitly questioned and in practice eroded the bond between the world of ideas and political activism, and in the case of Lyotard at least, explicitly announced the ‘end of metanarratives’: that is to say, the end of the long era during which it had been meaningful to develop grand philosophical theories to explain the human condition in universal or totalising terms. Marxism, in its various forms, had been the outstanding example of such theories. Other prominent French intellectuals have gone further in their attacks on left-wing commitment, following the ex-Maoists such as André Glucksmann and Bernard-Henri Lévy who became known for a time as the nouveaux philosophes. Luc Ferry and Alain Renaut, for example, not only rediscovered half-forgotten thinkers such as Alexis de Tocqueville and Raymond Aron, but also borrowed from bodies of political thought in Britain and the USA as they rediscovered the individual and embraced a version of philosophical liberalism. However, this did not signal an end to political commitment so much as a change in its

Moderation and Dissent. The French Presidential Elections of 1995

The results of the Presidential elections of April-May 1995 confirm that there are currently two parallel trends in French politics. On the one hand the mainstream left and mainstream right are increasingly contesting the middle ground, and a majority of voters accept this. On the other hand, a substantial minority of the electorate is keen to protest against the inability of any of the major parties to remedy Frances socio-economic ills, and therefore votes for the marginal parties, the parties of dissension and protest.