一九九五年フランス大統領選挙の考察

抄録

In May 1995, Jaques Chirac (Rassemblement Pour la République, neo-Gaulliste party) was elected French President. This article analyses the processes and Issues which conditioned the outcome of the Presidential Election.
First, Chirac's victory resulted from the prompt decline of Balladur's popularity and Chirac's campaign strategy. The former was been pushed by student's reluctance to Balladur's plan to reform the higher education system, an affaire of his government's illegal wiretap and a suspicion for his illegal income. The latter led the electorate to perceive Chirac as reliable President in terms of dynamism and change.
Second, Lionel Jospin (socialist candidate, former secretary general of the French Socialist Party) put up a good fight beyond expectation. In appearence, a confrontation is generally held to reinforce political polarisation, with French tendencies to a multiparty system resolving into a competition between the left and the right. In this context, the extreme-right Front National was found to be an influential political party with over 15% of votes.
Third, voters demanded “change” and the most urgent political problem is a solution for unemployment and social unfairness. In what concerned the methodology for how to solve these problems, there were no traditional fierce conflicts like disputes about ideology and economic systems. This difference in stance was seen in individual problems including the period of Presidential tenure, reopening of nuclear tests, and the draft period. This presidential election was conducted in a situation where qualitative changes concerning debates among candidates was seen.