There were also significant changes within the right and left wings, where coalitions were formed between the Gaullist and non-Gaullists in the former, and the Socialists and the Communists in the latter. Although, the early alliance of the Fifth Republic formed between the Socialists and Communists was a success in general, it only worked to the advantage, politically and electorally, of the Socialists. Indeed, the willingness of the new supporters (gained mainly from the centre and moderate left) decreased when it came to voting for Communist candidates, whom they still perceived to be too extreme (Bartolini 1984, p. 111) with “The Communist movement…seen as an external conspiracy against the nation” (Lipset & Rokkan 1967, p. 22). Supporters of the right on the other hand, seemed to switch their vote between the parties of that coalition, as they were both fairly moderate. “This tendency of right voters to display a less intense identification with a specific party…allowed these electors to act more in the interests of the coalition” (Bartolini 1984, p. 115).
These changes were highly significant. Prior to de Gaulle, the presidents of the Fourth Republic had been chosen by the Parliament, who did not want wilful and rebellious characters. Therefore, although the post could have been powerful, Parliament ensured that those who took office were not likely to take advantage of such power and cause coups such as those of 1851 and 1877, “Occupants…were depicted, at best, as distinguished yet colourless figures;…the…prisoners of The Members of Parliament” (Wright 1978, p. 19). When de Gaulle came to power as the French President however, he consciously shaped the system in a way which meant that these parties would wither away, his system depriving them of their raison d’être and the means to maintain their position politically.
De Gaulle also stipulated as a condition of his return to government that the Constitution must be changed. This was drafted by a group of parliamentary members, de Gaulle’s newly appointed Minister of Justice, Michel Debré, and de Gaulle himself. The text was adopted by the government on the 3rd of September 1958 and popularly accepted by the nation just over three weeks later (Wright 1978, p. 22). The main element of this new Constitution which helped structure the party system was that the nation would now vote directly for a President. Furthermore, though the original text specified that an electoral college of 80,000 political nobles were to vote, the 1962 referendum changed this to universal suffrage. (Wright 1978, p.24) De Gaulle claimed in a press conference in 1964, that the change made “…implies that the Head of State, elected by the nation, must be the source and holder of power” (Wright 1978, p. 25). This amendment shaped the structure of Fifth French Republic party system because universal suffrage brought with it the two ballot system.
This in turn, with the death of de Gaulle, caused the disappearance of the centrists, who had maintained a position between the left and the Gaullists since the beginning of the Fifth Republic. “With de Gaulle’s death however, and the progressive acceptance of the new political institutions…the raison d’être of these forces was undermined” (Bartolini 1984, p. 106). As a result, they were no longer able to put forward candidates, and were forced to indicate to the centrist electorate whom to support. There was disagreement amongst the centrist parties on this matter and finally, they were “…pushed to seek an electoral agreement…which represented the first step towards their full integration into the majority” (Bartolini 1984, p. 107). The 1967 and 1976 modifications also raised the threshold of votes needed to run a candidate in the second round to 10% and then 12.5% This “significantly weakened the capacity of…all minor parties…to maintain any relevant electoral role” (Bartolini 1984, p. 107) but also led to the decline in ideological distance between the right and left as the system favours “the moderate parties of each block given their ability to appeal to the bulk of undecided/switching voters” (Bartolini 1984, p.117).
Along with his instigation of the 1958 Constitution, De Gaulle’s personal qualities also allowed him to start the process of strengthening the Presidential post with this text and he carried on the process for the next decade. His charismatic appeal as a World War One war hero and his involvement in the Free French during the Second World War won him much support and respect. The successes which he achieved in solving the Algerian problem through national referendum also helped him gain faith with the people, uniting them and subsequently forcing the same process within the political parties which had previously been fragmented.
The last factor that I will discuss in relation to the shaping of the Fifth French Republic party system is the economic factor which accompanied the prosperity of the Fifth Republic. Before the Fifth French Republic and Les Trentes Glorieuses, that brought with it modernisation and the mass exodus of the countryside, the agricultural industry was one that was intent on preserving the agricultural community as a caste. In France, this caused a deep cleavage as, “A number of attempts were made to repress the unions and the Socialists” (Lipset & Rokkan 1967, p. 22) by the elites, causing the Socialist and Communists parties to isolate their supporters from other movements.
However, after the war, there were “improvements in the standard of living” and “rapid growth of a new ‘middle class’ bridging the gaps between the traditional working class and bourgeoisie” (Lipset & Rokkan 1967, p. 22). This was thanks to the economic boom which featured a rise in consumption and an absence of unemployment. The working class, and thus minority parties, therefore became less isolated and were drawn in by the Gaullist appeal and success. Indeed, “…the Radical and Socialist electorate had an image of de Gaulle…which was much more positive and less polarised than that of the political elites…for which they traditionally voted. In the long run it was this separation of mass electorate and political elites in the 1960s which provided a new dynamic for the party system” (Bartolini 1984, p. 116).
The main characteristic of the French Fifth Republic today therefore, is that it is a bi-polar, multiparty system. There are two main parties which “currently vie for national dominance” (Kesselman 2007, p. 131): the left wing, ‘Parti Socialiste’, and the right Wing, ‘Union pour un Mouvement Populaire’. However, there are also other parties which are pertinent to the French party system today. For example, “candidates from splinter parties…received more than half the first-ballot votes in the 2002 presidential elections” (Kesselman 2007, p. 131). These include François Bayrou who fronts the UDF and Olivier Besancenot from the Ligue Communiste Révolutionaire, who leads the opposition against Nicolas Sarkozy. However, these parties are not serious contenders in terms of the Presidency, as support for ‘fringe parties’ is divided as opposed to being concentrated between just two parties.
In conclusion, I would characterise the Fifth French Republic’s party system as one which has essentially two ideological poles which have gradually come closer together due to the electoral system put in place as part of the Gaullist Constitution. Though there are multiple parties that exist within this system, realistically, the moderate PS and UMP are the main presidential contenders, as shown in the second round of the 2007 Presidential elections. I believe it was the creation of the two ballot system and the final raising of the threshold to 12.5% which forced out minority parties as well as encouraging moderate parties. This was all intended by de Gaulle, who aimed to create a more stable government and party system since witnessing the volatile nature of the Fourth Republic. In short, De Gaulle and the electoral system are inextricably linked therefore as the main factors which helped to shape the Fifth French Republic’s party system.
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S. Bartolini (1984), ‘Institutional constraints and party competition in the French party system’, West European Politics, 7/4, pp.103 – 127.
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S.M. Lipset and S. Rokkan (eds) (1967), Party Systems and Voter Alignments: Cross-national Perspectives, pp.13-23, and 47-54.
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