Citizenship Between Empire and Nation: Remaking France and French Africa, 1945-1960

ideological rhetoric in opposition (albeit less so in recent years compared with the 1970s), tempered by an accommodation with ‘economic realities’ when the party is in government (evidenced by the sweeping privatisation measures of Prime Minister Lionel Jospin’s plural left government at the turn of the millennium). The book also highlights the difficulties that the Socialist Party has faced in coming to terms with the highly personalised presidential regime of the Fifth Republic: prior to Hollande’s success in 2012, the Socialists had won only two of the eight presidential contests held since de Gaulle’s 1962 constitutional amendment introduced direct election to the presidency by the people. In the final pages the authors even manage to include some material, largely critical, on Hollande’s presidential leadership. In some chapters there is a tendency towards a narrative presentation of content, the details of which may prove difficult to follow for the uninitiated. Overall, however, the book contains a good blend of analysis and evaluation to meet the needs and interests of both the specialist and general reader who wishes to understand more about the background to the conflicts and tensions at the heart of the party that currently provides President Hollande with a parliamentary majority for his proposed social and economic reforms.