Western Europe: France: economic and social studies

Since 1945 France has undergone profound change at all levels of society. It has been transformed from a nation-state focussed narrowly on its metropolitan territory and its empire into a country that is very open to international economic and cultural influences. An abiding perception of France has been one of a highly centralised political system, directed from Paris by the strong hand of the central state. The authors question this simplistic view, arguing that local initiatives have always existed, and relationships between the local and the national were more complex than often recognized. Successive chapters explore the evolution of the French economy from post-war reconstruction through the thirty years of growth to near stagnation in the 1980s. Social changes and regional disparities are analysed in the context of welfare policies and regional development schemes. Finally, attention is directed to urban problems and planning, the controversial modernization of agriculture, and the diversity of socio-economic conditions in the countryside. -H.Clout