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Presented at the International Workshop of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation "A Comparison of Left-Wing Parties: Basic Conditions, Strategic Approaches and Criteria for Success", Berlin, 12 /13 December 2002
In spring 2002 the French Left performed dismally at the polls. With just over 27% of the votes in the presidential election it fared only marginally better than in 1969. In the parliamentary elections it produced one of its worst results ever in the history of the Fifth Republic that was little better than the disastrous electoral performance of 1993. In 1997, it scored a surprising triumph in the elections that were called following Jacques Chirac’s decision to dissolve parliament. In 2002, it was punished severely for its five years in office. Reconstructing the Left is now the order of the day. ...
