The Club Phenomenon in France

Abstract

Among the most interesting facets of French politics under the Fifth Republic has been the appearance of a wave of political clubs. Such clubs were virtually nonexistent during the Fourth Republic. Yet by the mid-1960s they were not only numerous, but they wielded important influence in French politics. Although these clubs of the Fifth Republic drew upon the club traditions of revolutionary eras, they were generally considered to be new forces capable of regenerating the political parties that had been discredited by the failure of the Fourth Republic.1 The clubs appeared to be something different on the political scene, free from the sectarian divisions that have plagued the French party system. Indeed, one of the goals of the leaders of the club movement was to unify the divided and outmoded party structures of the democratic Left. Within a few years of their involvement in active politics, however, the clubs assumed the same divided character, sectarianism, and outmoded political style that characterizes the party system. This transformation of the club movement from forces nouvelles, advocating reform of the party system, into distinct political forces contributing to the very evils that they had earlier sought to overcome illustrates the difficulty of accomplishing fundamental reform of the structures and practices of the French Left.