The Case of France

Abstract

AbstractFrance is a country that has resisted nationalist politics for most of its history as a democratic nation. The conflict has been one of an elite versus the working classes. As immigration has increased, especially from Muslim countries, the electorate has become more focused on cultural issues, and the traditional political parties have given way to ones based upon one’s ethnic heritage. The traditional Gaullist party of the right, the Rally pour La Republique, has been replaced by a party once universally rejected, the Front National. Both the FN and the more moderate centrist coalition of Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron have shifted to the right on issues of immigration, demanding that Muslim immigrants accept the national doctrine of laicité, or the banning of religious symbols from public life.