Authoritarian populism is challenging contemporary democracies, prompting concern about their resilience. Using France as a magnifying lens, this book adopts a cautiously optimistic perspective. It argues that the gap is widening between political elites and ordinary citizens, the French remain strongly committed to democratic values Far from turning away from democracy, they call for greater participation and responsiveness from their institutions. French democracy is on a razor's edge, as frustrated citizens' expectations mount and attainable reforms await implementation.
Chapter 1 France as a Lens for Understanding Democratic Challenges.-
Chapter 2 What Does Democracy Mean Today.- Chapter 3 Benchmarking French
Democracy in the Light of the VDem Dataset.
Chapter 4 Party Stances on
Direct and Deliberative Democracy.
Chapter 5 Polls in the Representative
Linkage The Commissioning of Polls by the French Presidents Sarkozy and
Macron.
Chapter 6 Does It Pay to Keep Ones Word Pledge Performance and
Executive Popularity.- Chapter 7 The Changing Information Landscape and the
Rise of Digital Technology Friend or Foe of Representative Democracy.-
Chapter 8 Voices Unheard The End of Protest as a Force for Social Change in
France.
Chapter 9 Beyond Distrust Grasping the Representation Relationship
from Citizens Practices.
Chapter 10 How Social Exclusion Breeds Political
Exclusion.
Chapter 11 The Impact of Generational Change on Votes for the
French Populist Radical Right.
Chapter 12 Do Parties Still Matter The
Disappearance of the French Parties in the Electorate.
Chapter 13 The Social
Roots of Political Trust and Democracy The French Critical Citizen
Revisited.
Chapter 14 What Drives Dissatisfied Democrats Views of Democracy
Democratic Satisfaction and Voting.
Chapter 15 The Social and Political
Determinants of Support for Democratic Innovations in France.
Chapter 16
French Democracy in Distress What Is to Be Done.
Chapter 17 A Realistic Call
for Democratic Reform in France.
Élodie Druez is F.R.S.-FNRS Research Fellow at the GERME, Free University of Brussels, Belgium.
Frédéric Gonthier is Full Professor of Political Science at Sciences Po Grenoble, University of Grenoble-Alpes, Pacte CNRS, France.
Camille Kelbel is Scientific Advisor at the Fund for Scientific Research (F.R.S.-FNRS), Belgium.
Nonna Mayer is CNRS Research Director Emerita at the Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics of Sciences Po (CEE), France.
Felix-Christopher von Nostitz is Associate Professor in Political Science, ESPOL-LAB, Catholic University of Lille, France.
Vincent Tiberj is Full Professor of Political Science at Sciences Po Bordeaux, Centre Emile Durkheim (CED), France.
