The Orientations of Electoral Sociology in France

Reports on French elections give the number of votes for each candidate in each commune in France. As the commune is not only an electoral district, but also an administrative one, statist of all kinds can be established. Electoral data can thus be compared with econ, occup'al & social data. Thus recent research is oriented towards regional studies. Such studies point to the importance of social & religious factors as determinants in electoral behavior, as well as to the complexity of the problems of electoral behavior. A weakness of French electoral sociol is the lack of interest in the study of national character. France has never known a two-party system, thus a study of PO is difficult. The postulate that all political tendencies can be reduced to the antithesis of Right/Left or Movement/Order has rarely been questioned. It is believed that this hypo cannot satisfactorily explain the evolution of French political life & PO. Therefore, a different hypo is suggested where PO is divided into 3 currents: the Right (or Opposition of the Right), the Center, & the Left (or Opposition of the Left). The Right expresses the opinion of once privileged social groups who would like to attempt the impossible task of regaining it. It remains perpetually reactionary. The Center consists of the 'satisfied' & is made up of the various categories of the French bourgeoisie. The Left is made up of the exploited, consisting originally of the petite bourgeoisie, but now its place has been taken by the Socialists followed by the Communists. This group wishes to substitute a new order for the existing one. This hypo can help the study of electoral behavior by drawing attention to the fact that certain sections of the pop through routine, lack of educ, or mediocrity of intelligence are ideologically indifferent. J. E. Jacobi.