The French left came to power in 1981 with a project to "transform society". By 1983 French economic policy underwent a dramatic U-turn as the government moved from its reform agenda to an economic orthodoxy that won the accolades of the business press throughout Europe. This anthology explores the political effects of this policy change. In particular, it examines the transformation in the composition, organization and orientation of the French left under the presidency of Francois Mitterrand.

Fourteen essays investigate the causes and the implications of such a shift. They examine the breakdown of traditional party and union strategies, the constraints of party politics, the challenges of economic policy, the attempts to forge new political discourses, and the new challenges (focused around issues of race, gender, and ecology) for the "respectable" left.