Understanding Contemporary French Politics
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this course on French political life since 1958, taught in English. It traces the institutions of the Fifth Republic through major controversies and cleavages: the Algerian war and its postcolonial aftermath, the founding of the European Union, the social upheavals of the 1970s, the recognition of new family structures, and the recent financial crisis. The course examines why political participation has declined even as politics continues to shape French cultural and social life. Materials include the syllabus, readings, and assignments used in the MIT classroom version of the course, free to access online with no certificate offered. It suits students of European politics, history, or French studies who want a structured look at how postwar debates built the current French political system.