Social Change in Modern France: Towards a Cultural Anthropology of the Fifth Republic

Social Change in Modern France is a concise and lucid account of the profound transformations that have reshaped French society over the past thirty years. The authors show how the characteristic institutions of the Third Republic have been weakened, destroyed, or severely altered in the face of a late and rapid industrialization. The church, the army, the trade unions, the schools, even the French communist party–all have lost their capacity to excite major conflict and tension, and in their stead a series of local institutions, voluntary associations and family ties have arisen, serving as the basic network for social relations and social life. Traditional French joie de vivre has assumed new forms, and, the authors maintain, a very sturdy and cohesive society has arisen, based on widespread consensus.