Government through Culture and the Contemporary French Right

Culture, understood broadly, lay at the heart of contrasting right-wing strategies for government in France during the pivotal decade of 2002–2012. Looking at issues of political secularism, educational reform, televisual performance, public memory and nation-branding, Ahearne analyses how Presidents Chirac and Sarkozy sought to redefine contemporary French identity. This study extends prevailing conceptions of 'cultural policy' and shows how this constitutes a core dimension, alongside economic and social policies, of modern right-wing government. It traces, over the course of the decade in question, a dramatic hardening of
the attitudes and values informing these programmes for cultural hegemony. These reflect enduring transformations in the political and symbolic landscape of contemporary France.

Jeremy Ahearne is Professor of French Studies and Cultural Policy Studies at the University of Warwick, UK, where he is also Director of the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies. He has published widely on French culture, politics and intellectual history.

Introduction
1. Reforging Symbols: The New Laicity
2. Transmission: The Collège and the Socle Commun
3. Government through Television: Policy and Performance
4. Memory: History and National Identity
5. Outward Projection: France in the World Conclusion