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. The 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"--