Mitterrand and the far right
Encyclopedia
François Mitterrand and the far right has been the theme of a number of books, films and television programmes since 1990, generating many column inches and much debate, not to mention rumours and gossip. Pierre Péan
's book published in 1994 discusses in depth François Mitterrand's formative years in 1930s and 1940's. Other authors discuss 1980s rise in the Front national
, and debate the possibility of Mitterrand deliberately dividing the right for political gain.
's far right league, the Croix de Feu, which lasted between one and three years depending on sources. On 1 February 1935, Mitterrand joined the Action française
march, more commonly known as “l'invasion métèque”, to demonstrate against foreign doctors setting up in France with cries of “La France aux Français”. There are two photos which show Mitterrand facing a police line, published in Les Camelots du Roi by Maurice Pujo
. Mitterrand admitted being there but denied taking part in the demonstration in a TV interview with Jean-Pierre Elkabach in September 1994. He is quoted as saying “Je n'y étais pas pour ça” ( “I was not there for that”) and, in France, there is some debate over the significance of his presence at the march.
Similarly, many young people, mostly students, lived at 104, rue de Vaugirard, Paris with the “pères maristes” and they all knew the leaders of La Cagoule
(a right-wing terrorist organisation), Eugène Deloncle
and Eugène Schueller
, without overtly adhering to their cause. Pierre Guillain de Bénouville, Claude Roy
(the writer), François Mitterrand and André Bettencourt
all regularly visited the apartments in rue Zédé and rue Chernoviz where La Cagoule met. But this does not prove that Mitterrand was a member of la Cagoule. He did, however, he keep up relations and family ties with Eugène Deloncle.
During the winter of 1936, François Mitterrand took part in action against Gaston Jèze
. Between January and March 1936, the nationalist right and l'Action française
, campaigned for Gaston Jèze's resignation, because he acted as a counsellor for Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
, after he was driven from Addis Ababa
by Mussolini's troops during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
.
Mitterrand in the Elkabach TV interview and also in his memoirs defends his actions in this period by saying they were typical of many apolitical inexperienced young men from provincial, middle class, Catholic families at this time, but at best his behavior seems to indicate an ambitious young man looking for action and making connections with little discernment and poor insight. At worst it sits very uncomfortably in the history of a high profile left-wing politician.
during the period January 1942 to mid 1943. His actions during this period are hotly debated. His work in the Vichy regime was mostly of a civic and social nature in the department looking after the interests of French POWs. According to Franz-Olivier Giesbert "He came to Vichy to work: Colonel Le Corbeiller, a friend of his mother, found him a job. It was a short term contract with a salary of 2100 francs a month." Giesbert then goes on to say "Maurice Pinot, the head of department for the welfare of POWs, was a member of the resistance ... and the services of his department became subversive, helping prisoners escape from camps in Germany." However in January 1943, the department became overtly pro Nazi. The historian C. Lewin says "the attitude of those working in the POW department from the beginning was anti-German and therefore anti-collaborationist. The Vichy Regime, for the most part, were supportive of the department at first but the Regime's relationship with the occupying forces was ambiguous and slowly slipped into collaboration which forced those working in the POW department to be careful and distance themselves from the Regime. The actions of the POW dept remained civic, social, apolitical and 'wait and see' ". In January 1943 Maurice Pinot was replaced as head of the department so Mitterrand resigned, keeping his post as the head of the “centres d'entraides” for which he received the francisque gallique in march or April 1943 (the date differs given the sources).
For some, Pierre Péan
's book shows Mitterrand was pro Pétain
, for example in a letter written to his sister on 13 March 1942, he wrote " I saw 'le maréchal' at the theater ... his demeanour is magnificent, his face that of a marble statue" and Georges-Marc Benamou quotes Mitterrand as saying "Ah Vichy, Ah Pétain ... he was an old man, a bit out of touch but ... magnificent." Others, however, reading the same book interpret the facts differently, saying that Mitterrand was never pro Vichy, and was actively sending maps and other equipment to POW camps to help with escapes right from the beginning. Another letter quoted in the book, dated 22 avril 1942, shows he had doubts about Pierre Laval
, and disliked the way the POW department was being reorganised. From mid 1943 his active membership of the resistance is not contested.
Pétain's tomb was decorated with flowers in the president's name on 10 November 1968 for the 50th anniversary of the 1918 armistice and again in February 1973 (under Georges Pompidou
), following attacks on the tomb at L'Île-d'Yeu and once more in 1978 (under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
), for the 60th anniversary of the victory in 1918.
During François Mitterrand's presidency, the grave was decorated with flowers 22 September 1984 (the day Mitterrand met Helmut Kohl
at Verdun), then on 15 June 1986 (70th anniversary of the Battle for Verdun) and every 11 November from 1987 to 1992. This practice only stopped after numerous protests from the Jewish community.
According to Pierre Favier and Michel Martin-Roland, François Mitterrand saw himself as following his predecessors when in 1984, after shaking Helmut Kohl's hand, he laid a wreath on the tomb. They quote Mitterrand in the same book as saying that the wreath laying from 1987 onwards "n'était qu'une habitude prise par l'administration" ("was just a custom of (his) administration").
François Mitterrand like other apologists for Pétain say they are simply honouring the memory of the hero of Verdun and not the head of state from Vichy. Laurent Fabius
, one of Mitterrand's Prime Ministers, remarked that when we judge a man we must do it on the basis of the whole of his life. Whilst the historian André Kaspi said "Pétain the collaborator of 1940 to 1944 could not have misled the French nor convinced a large number of them to follow him without the prestige of Pétain the hero of 1914-1918. One could not have existed without the other."
, ex secrétaire général of the Vichy police. Charles de Gaulle said of Mitterrand and Bousquet "they are ghosts who come from the deepest depths of the collaboration."
Georges-Marc Benamou quotes Mitterrand as saying of Bousquet "his career shattered at the age of 35, it was dreadful... Bousquet suffered badly. Imagine the break, the career shot to pieces" which shows Mitterrand felt that Bousquet was undeservedly badly treated.
In 1974, René Bousquet gave financial help to François Mitterrand for his presidential campaign against Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
. In an interview with Pierre Favier et Michel Martin-Roland Mitterrand claimed that he was not the only left wing politician to benefit from Bousquet's money, as René Bousquet helped finance all the principal left wing politicians from the 1950s to the beginning of the 1970s, including Pierre Mendès France.
Worse still after Mitterrand's 1981 win René Bousquet was received at the Élysée palace “to talk politics”. In an interview with Pascale Froment (René Bousquet's biographer) Mitterrand declared "I listened to him as a political commentator. He saw me as a continuation of his halted career." Only in 1986, when media criticism of Bousquet began to gain in volume, did Mitterrand stop seeing him and he did not comment on the matter until the 1994 interview with Jean-Pierre Elkabach.
Lionel Jospin
commented that he was little impressed by the President's explanation saying "One would have liked a simpler and more transparent rise to power for the leader of the French left during the 70s and 80s. What I can't understand is the continuing relationship into the 80s with the likes of Bousquet who organized the mass arrests of Jews"
and Charles Fiterman
also felt let down: "these revelations leave the uncomfortable impression of having been deceived by the man. 50 years later we see no trace of regret nor critical analysis, but a continuation of a compromising relationship which casts new light on events such as putting flowers on Pétain's tomb. This seems to show a continuity in the choices of a leader calling in favors from a network of friends."
Pierre Moscovici
, commenting on Pierre Péan's book said " What shocked me is his rubbing shoulders with someone who was instrumental in state antisemitism and the 'final solution'. We can't tolerate such tolerance of evil, and for me René Bousquet was absolute evil" and the historian Pierre Miquel commenting on the TV interview said "the comments... of the President of the Republic are part of a discourse from the right... on the subject of the occupation" and he went on to ask "Where are the documents from the resistance which show why Bousquet should be rehabilitated and redecorated? It isn't easy for this generation to understand never mind us."
reported on what he sees as a deliberate strategy to destabilize the right in the French parliament. In 1982 Mitterrand stated that he felt the French media gave unfair treatment to Jean-Marie Le Pen
, the leader of the French National Front. He therefore told the Communications Minister to speak to the managers of the TV and Radio stations about the air time given to Le Pen. In February 1984, Giesbert reported that the Élysée Palace was 'putting pressure on' the main TV channels to give Le Pen air time on prime time political programs such as, l'Heure de vérité, hosted by François-Henri de Virieu. The historian Anne-Marie Duranton-Crabol accepts that political tactics were part of Mitterrand's reasoning but stops short of accusing him of deliberate political manipulation mascarading as improving the democratic process.
Proportional representation was one of the 110 propositions pour la France
of the candidate François Mitterrand in the 1981 presidential elections. The decision to change the method of voting was only adopted in March 1985 the day after the left's disaster in the cantonal
elections. It was adopted by the 'conseil des ministres' in April 1985, provoking the immediate resignation of government minister Michel Rocard
. Franz-Olivier Giesbert explains this change as being against the parliamentary right rather than pro the FN. The changes in voting practices and the increase in the number of seats from 491 to 577 reduced the chances of the PS losing the majority in parliament.
In the elections on 16 March 1986 35 députés from the Front National were elected whilst the alliance of right-wing parties (RPR-UDF and others) only obtained 3 députés more than the absolute majority.
Pierre Péan
Pierre Péan is a renowned French investigative journalist and author of many books concerned with political scandals.-Books, investigations and controversies:...
's book published in 1994 discusses in depth François Mitterrand's formative years in 1930s and 1940's. Other authors discuss 1980s rise in the Front national
Front National
Front National can mean:* Front National , a French political party* Front National , a World War II French Resistance group* Front National , a Belgian political party...
, and debate the possibility of Mitterrand deliberately dividing the right for political gain.
Les Volontaires Nationaux, la Cagoule and l'invasion métèque
Many commentators and authors line up along party lines, and consensus in their views is difficult to achieve. It is, however, widely accepted in France that Mitterrand's actions during the period 1934 to 1945 are open to contradictory interpretations. An example of this is his membership of the Volontaires Nationaux (National Volunteers), an organization related to François de la RocqueFrançois de la Rocque
François de La Rocque was leader of the French right-wing league named the Croix de Feu from 1930–1936, before forming the more moderate Parti Social Français , seen as a precursor of Gaullism.- Early life :François de La Rocque was born on 6 October 1885 in Lorient, Brittany, the third son to a...
's far right league, the Croix de Feu, which lasted between one and three years depending on sources. On 1 February 1935, Mitterrand joined the Action française
Action Française
The Action Française , founded in 1898, is a French Monarchist counter-revolutionary movement and periodical founded by Maurice Pujo and Henri Vaugeois and whose principal ideologist was Charles Maurras...
march, more commonly known as “l'invasion métèque”, to demonstrate against foreign doctors setting up in France with cries of “La France aux Français”. There are two photos which show Mitterrand facing a police line, published in Les Camelots du Roi by Maurice Pujo
Maurice Pujo
Maurice Pujo was a French journalist and co-founder, with Henri Vaugeois in 1898, of the Comité d'Action Française, which subsequently became the nationalist and monarchist Action Française movement.His son, Pierre Pujo led Action Française until his death on 10 November 2007....
. Mitterrand admitted being there but denied taking part in the demonstration in a TV interview with Jean-Pierre Elkabach in September 1994. He is quoted as saying “Je n'y étais pas pour ça” ( “I was not there for that”) and, in France, there is some debate over the significance of his presence at the march.
Similarly, many young people, mostly students, lived at 104, rue de Vaugirard, Paris with the “pères maristes” and they all knew the leaders of La Cagoule
La Cagoule
La Cagoule , officially called Comité secret d'action révolutionnaire , was a violent French fascist-leaning and anti-communist group, active in the 1930s, and designed to attempt the overthrow of the French Third Republic...
(a right-wing terrorist organisation), Eugène Deloncle
Eugène Deloncle
Eugène Deloncle was a French engineer and Fascist leader, and the adoptive father of Jacques Corrèze....
and Eugène Schueller
Eugène Schueller
Eugène Schueller was the founder of L'Oréal, the world's leading company in cosmetics and beauty.- Career with L'Oréal :...
, without overtly adhering to their cause. Pierre Guillain de Bénouville, Claude Roy
Claude Roy
Claude Roy was a French poet and essayist.-Awards:* 1969 Prix Littéraire Valery Larbaud for his book Le verbe Aimer et autres essais* 1985 Prix Goncourt de la Poésie-Works:...
(the writer), François Mitterrand and André Bettencourt
André Bettencourt
André Bettencourt was a French politician. He had been awarded the Croix de Guerre, and is a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor...
all regularly visited the apartments in rue Zédé and rue Chernoviz where La Cagoule met. But this does not prove that Mitterrand was a member of la Cagoule. He did, however, he keep up relations and family ties with Eugène Deloncle.
During the winter of 1936, François Mitterrand took part in action against Gaston Jèze
Gaston Jèze
Gaston Jèze was a French academic, humanitarian and Human Rights activist. He was a professor of public law , president of the International Law Institute , founder and director of the Journal of Science and financial legislation Director of the Public Law Review .During the 1930's he served as...
. Between January and March 1936, the nationalist right and l'Action française
Action Française
The Action Française , founded in 1898, is a French Monarchist counter-revolutionary movement and periodical founded by Maurice Pujo and Henri Vaugeois and whose principal ideologist was Charles Maurras...
, campaigned for Gaston Jèze's resignation, because he acted as a counsellor for Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I , born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974...
, after he was driven from Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
by Mussolini's troops during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
.
Mitterrand in the Elkabach TV interview and also in his memoirs defends his actions in this period by saying they were typical of many apolitical inexperienced young men from provincial, middle class, Catholic families at this time, but at best his behavior seems to indicate an ambitious young man looking for action and making connections with little discernment and poor insight. At worst it sits very uncomfortably in the history of a high profile left-wing politician.
“Le vichysto-résistant”
Mitterrand has been called “Le vichysto-résistant”, meaning that he was both part of the Vichy regime as a civil servant and an active member of the resistanceFrench Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
during the period January 1942 to mid 1943. His actions during this period are hotly debated. His work in the Vichy regime was mostly of a civic and social nature in the department looking after the interests of French POWs. According to Franz-Olivier Giesbert "He came to Vichy to work: Colonel Le Corbeiller, a friend of his mother, found him a job. It was a short term contract with a salary of 2100 francs a month." Giesbert then goes on to say "Maurice Pinot, the head of department for the welfare of POWs, was a member of the resistance ... and the services of his department became subversive, helping prisoners escape from camps in Germany." However in January 1943, the department became overtly pro Nazi. The historian C. Lewin says "the attitude of those working in the POW department from the beginning was anti-German and therefore anti-collaborationist. The Vichy Regime, for the most part, were supportive of the department at first but the Regime's relationship with the occupying forces was ambiguous and slowly slipped into collaboration which forced those working in the POW department to be careful and distance themselves from the Regime. The actions of the POW dept remained civic, social, apolitical and 'wait and see' ". In January 1943 Maurice Pinot was replaced as head of the department so Mitterrand resigned, keeping his post as the head of the “centres d'entraides” for which he received the francisque gallique in march or April 1943 (the date differs given the sources).
For some, Pierre Péan
Pierre Péan
Pierre Péan is a renowned French investigative journalist and author of many books concerned with political scandals.-Books, investigations and controversies:...
's book shows Mitterrand was pro Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
, for example in a letter written to his sister on 13 March 1942, he wrote " I saw 'le maréchal' at the theater ... his demeanour is magnificent, his face that of a marble statue" and Georges-Marc Benamou quotes Mitterrand as saying "Ah Vichy, Ah Pétain ... he was an old man, a bit out of touch but ... magnificent." Others, however, reading the same book interpret the facts differently, saying that Mitterrand was never pro Vichy, and was actively sending maps and other equipment to POW camps to help with escapes right from the beginning. Another letter quoted in the book, dated 22 avril 1942, shows he had doubts about Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval was a French politician. He was four times President of the council of ministers of the Third Republic, twice consecutively. Following France's Armistice with Germany in 1940, he served twice in the Vichy Regime as head of government, signing orders permitting the deportation of...
, and disliked the way the POW department was being reorganised. From mid 1943 his active membership of the resistance is not contested.
Le Maréchal Pétain
The laying of flowers on Maréchal Philippe Pétain's tomb during the period 1984 to 1991 has caused much controversy. Under the presidency of Général de GaulleCharles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
Pétain's tomb was decorated with flowers in the president's name on 10 November 1968 for the 50th anniversary of the 1918 armistice and again in February 1973 (under Georges Pompidou
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:...
), following attacks on the tomb at L'Île-d'Yeu and once more in 1978 (under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
), for the 60th anniversary of the victory in 1918.
During François Mitterrand's presidency, the grave was decorated with flowers 22 September 1984 (the day Mitterrand met Helmut Kohl
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...
at Verdun), then on 15 June 1986 (70th anniversary of the Battle for Verdun) and every 11 November from 1987 to 1992. This practice only stopped after numerous protests from the Jewish community.
According to Pierre Favier and Michel Martin-Roland, François Mitterrand saw himself as following his predecessors when in 1984, after shaking Helmut Kohl's hand, he laid a wreath on the tomb. They quote Mitterrand in the same book as saying that the wreath laying from 1987 onwards "n'était qu'une habitude prise par l'administration" ("was just a custom of (his) administration").
François Mitterrand like other apologists for Pétain say they are simply honouring the memory of the hero of Verdun and not the head of state from Vichy. Laurent Fabius
Laurent Fabius
Laurent Fabius is a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister from 17 July 1984 to 20 March 1986. He was 37 years old when he was appointed and is, so far, the youngest Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic.-Early life:...
, one of Mitterrand's Prime Ministers, remarked that when we judge a man we must do it on the basis of the whole of his life. Whilst the historian André Kaspi said "Pétain the collaborator of 1940 to 1944 could not have misled the French nor convinced a large number of them to follow him without the prestige of Pétain the hero of 1914-1918. One could not have existed without the other."
René Bousquet
The most damming of all charges against Mitterrand and his right wing connections is probably his long lasting friendship with René BousquetRené Bousquet
René Bousquet was a high-ranking French civil servant, who served as secretary general to the Vichy regime police from May 1942 to 31 December 1943.-Biography:...
, ex secrétaire général of the Vichy police. Charles de Gaulle said of Mitterrand and Bousquet "they are ghosts who come from the deepest depths of the collaboration."
Georges-Marc Benamou quotes Mitterrand as saying of Bousquet "his career shattered at the age of 35, it was dreadful... Bousquet suffered badly. Imagine the break, the career shot to pieces" which shows Mitterrand felt that Bousquet was undeservedly badly treated.
In 1974, René Bousquet gave financial help to François Mitterrand for his presidential campaign against Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
. In an interview with Pierre Favier et Michel Martin-Roland Mitterrand claimed that he was not the only left wing politician to benefit from Bousquet's money, as René Bousquet helped finance all the principal left wing politicians from the 1950s to the beginning of the 1970s, including Pierre Mendès France.
Worse still after Mitterrand's 1981 win René Bousquet was received at the Élysée palace “to talk politics”. In an interview with Pascale Froment (René Bousquet's biographer) Mitterrand declared "I listened to him as a political commentator. He saw me as a continuation of his halted career." Only in 1986, when media criticism of Bousquet began to gain in volume, did Mitterrand stop seeing him and he did not comment on the matter until the 1994 interview with Jean-Pierre Elkabach.
Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin is a French politician, who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.Jospin was the Socialist Party candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002. He was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac in 1995...
commented that he was little impressed by the President's explanation saying "One would have liked a simpler and more transparent rise to power for the leader of the French left during the 70s and 80s. What I can't understand is the continuing relationship into the 80s with the likes of Bousquet who organized the mass arrests of Jews"
and Charles Fiterman
Charles Fiterman
Charles Fiterman is a French politician. He served as Minister of Transport from 1981 to 1984, under former President François Mitterand. He is a member of the French Communist Party.-References:...
also felt let down: "these revelations leave the uncomfortable impression of having been deceived by the man. 50 years later we see no trace of regret nor critical analysis, but a continuation of a compromising relationship which casts new light on events such as putting flowers on Pétain's tomb. This seems to show a continuity in the choices of a leader calling in favors from a network of friends."
Pierre Moscovici
Pierre Moscovici
Pierre Moscovici is a French politician, a member of the Departmental Council of Doubs and a Member of the French Parliament. He is a member of the French Socialist Party ; part of the Party of European Socialists...
, commenting on Pierre Péan's book said " What shocked me is his rubbing shoulders with someone who was instrumental in state antisemitism and the 'final solution'. We can't tolerate such tolerance of evil, and for me René Bousquet was absolute evil" and the historian Pierre Miquel commenting on the TV interview said "the comments... of the President of the Republic are part of a discourse from the right... on the subject of the occupation" and he went on to ask "Where are the documents from the resistance which show why Bousquet should be rehabilitated and redecorated? It isn't easy for this generation to understand never mind us."
le Front national
The journalist Franz-Olivier GiesbertFranz-Olivier Giesbert
Franz-Olivier Giesbert is a French journalist and author. He worked for Le Figaro from 1988 to 2000 and Le Point starting in 2000.-Novels:*Un très grand amour, 2010, éditions Gallimard...
reported on what he sees as a deliberate strategy to destabilize the right in the French parliament. In 1982 Mitterrand stated that he felt the French media gave unfair treatment to Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
, the leader of the French National Front. He therefore told the Communications Minister to speak to the managers of the TV and Radio stations about the air time given to Le Pen. In February 1984, Giesbert reported that the Élysée Palace was 'putting pressure on' the main TV channels to give Le Pen air time on prime time political programs such as, l'Heure de vérité, hosted by François-Henri de Virieu. The historian Anne-Marie Duranton-Crabol accepts that political tactics were part of Mitterrand's reasoning but stops short of accusing him of deliberate political manipulation mascarading as improving the democratic process.
Proportional representation was one of the 110 propositions pour la France
110 Propositions for France
110 Propositions for France was the name of the Socialist Party's program for the 1981 presidential election during which the Socialist Party's candidate, François Mitterrand, was elected by 51.76% of the people...
of the candidate François Mitterrand in the 1981 presidential elections. The decision to change the method of voting was only adopted in March 1985 the day after the left's disaster in the cantonal
Cantons of France
The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 342 arrondissements and 101 departments.Apart from their role as organizational units in certain aspects of the administration of public services and justice, the chief purpose of the cantons today is to serve as...
elections. It was adopted by the 'conseil des ministres' in April 1985, provoking the immediate resignation of government minister Michel Rocard
Michel Rocard
Michel Rocard is a French politician, member of the Socialist Party . He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1988 to 1991, during which he created the Revenu minimum d'insertion , a social minimum welfare program for indigents, and led the Matignon Accords regarding the status...
. Franz-Olivier Giesbert explains this change as being against the parliamentary right rather than pro the FN. The changes in voting practices and the increase in the number of seats from 491 to 577 reduced the chances of the PS losing the majority in parliament.
In the elections on 16 March 1986 35 députés from the Front National were elected whilst the alliance of right-wing parties (RPR-UDF and others) only obtained 3 députés more than the absolute majority.