The Role of the Prime Minister in France, 1981-91

The institution of the Prime Minister in France remains remarkably understudied. There are many personalised accounts of the work of individual Prime Ministers and their relations with Presidents and government ministers. However, there has been no rigorous attempt to analyse the Prime Minister's overall influence in the decision-making process. The aim of this book is to examine the contemporary role of the Prime Minister in the French political system. By so doing, it provides a systematic analysis of the Prime Minister's influence over the policy-making process from 1981 to 1991. In particular, it examines the Prime Minister's ability to influence the content of budgetary policy and broadcasting policy. It also examines his capacity to react to crisis situations, notably during France's decision to stay in the European Monetary System in 1983 and during the wave of student unrest in 1986. The extent to which the Prime Minister is able to exercise political leadership and the conditions under which such leadership occurs are the main issues the book addresses. As such, it breaks new ground in the study of the French Prime Minister and provides a commentary on the French socialist experiment as conducted by Francois Mitterrand after 1981.