Author: Mayer, Nonna

Source: French Politics, Culture & Society, Volume 29, Number 3, Winter 2011 , pp. 101-120(20)

Publisher: Berghahn Journals

Abstract:

Focusing on electoral support for the extreme Left and the extreme Right on the eve of the 2007 French presidential election, this article refutes the "convergence of the extremes" theory. It draws on data from the 2007 CEVIPOF French Electoral Panel to compare the profiles of voters for Jean-Marie Le Pen and Olivier Besancenot. Combining sociological, psycho-political, and economic models for explaining voter choice, it shows how different Le Pen and Besancenot voters are in their partisan and ideological attachments, as well as their social affinities and their positions on candidates and issues. Divergent social and political logics explain the electoral support for these two candidates: their voters do not occupy the same political space, they do not have the same social background, and they do not hold the same values.

Keywords: EXTREME RIGHT; EXTREME LEFT; TROTSKYISM; ETHNOCENTRISM; AUTHORITARIANISM

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3167/fpcs.2011.290307

Publication date: 2011-12-01

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• French Politics Culture and Society is the journal of the Conference Group on French Politics & Society. The journal is jointly sponsored by the Institute of French Studies at New York University and the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University.
  
  The Journal explores modern and contemporary France from the perspectives of the social sciences, history, and cultural analysis. It also examines the relationship of France to the larger world, especially Europe, the United States, and the former French Empire. The editors welcome pieces on recent debates and events, as well as articles that explore the connections between French society and cultural expression of all sorts (such as art, film, literature, and popular culture).
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