The French Socialist Party: The Emergence of a Party of Government

This topical study examines the historic significance of the recent rise to power of the French Socialist party. Newly revised and updated, it traces the transformation of the Party from a marginal group of the Left in 1969 to the party of government following Mitterrand's dramatic victory in 1981. Examining the evolution of party objectives in the long quest for power, and specific areas of party activity, the work demonstrates that while a strategic alliance with the Communists has proved necessary, the Party continues to articulate a middle position of essentially Social Democratic objectives.