French Relations with the European Union

by Helen Drake (Editor)

Overview

This scholarly work examines how key actors within French politics and society have related to the challenges and opportunities posed by the European Union, and how these relations have driven or hindered change in France.

The collection invites the reader to explore below the surface image of a France troubled by its relations with the EU in the post-Cold War era, and see the dynamics of change in empirical detail. Each chapter offers insights into specific aspects of the France-EU relationship, including:

• the characteristics of Euroscepticism à la française amongst the electorate and political parties
• the dynamics of change in the political, media and legal establishments in their dealings with the EU
• the priorities for labour, business and la vie associative in their relations with French decision-makers regarding the EU.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415305761
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/14/2005
Series:	Europe and the Nation State
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Helen Drake is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics, International Relations and European Studies. Her research and teaching interests are in French politics, language and society, and European integration. She is also the author of Jacques Delors: Perspectives on a European Leader (Routledge).

Table of Contents

1. Perspectives on French Relations with the European Union: an Introduction 2. How French Policy Makers See Themselves 3. French Euroscepticism and the Politics of Indifference 4. Maastricht, Amsterdam and Beyond: The Troubled Evolution of the French Right 5. The Conseil d'État and Europe: Adapting the French Administrative State 6. Protection, Reform and Political Will: France and the European Social Model 7. The French Press and the European Union: the Challenge of Community News 8. La Vie Associative and the State: Unequal Partners in the French Debate on Europe 9. Towards a New French Strategy for Europe? Concluding Remarks