A core text for undergraduates studying the political institutions of contemporary France. It provides an accessible introduction to the government and politics of France by focusing on the institutions of the Fifth Republic. It contains key information about the legal and constitutional powers of the country's political institutions and party system, about the procedures and practices of the decision-making process and about the general development of the political system since 1958.

• 1: The Fifth Republic


• 2: The Party System


• 3: The State


• 4: The Executive


• 5: The Bureaucracy


• 6: The Legislature


• 7: The Judiciary


• 8: Local Government

Robert Elgie is Paddy Moriarty Professor of Government and International Studies at Dublin City University.
His publications include 'French Politics' (written with Steven Griggs, 2000), 'The Changing French Political System' (editor, 2000) and 'Semi-Presidentialism in Europe' (1999).