Paradox of Balladur's legacy: 'Highly popular' innovative Gaullist gradually became irrelevant

Sharon Gaffney is pleased to welcome Renaud Foucart, Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University. According to Foucart, Édouard Balladur’s political legacy mattered because he embodied a political model that was innovative and yet limited in scope and longevity. As PM under Socialist President François Mitterrand, Balladur helped demonstrate that ideological rivals could govern together under cohabitation while pursuing an ambitious programme of privatisation and economic reform. Yet Foucart argues that Balladur’s ultimately unsuccessful presidential campaign exposed a deeper transformation in French politics: technocratic competence, elite stature and institutional authority were becoming less electorally powerful than the ability to connect with ordinary voters.  #Balladur #Chirac #Mitterrand 🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen 🔴 LIVE - Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN 🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/ Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen Follow us on X: https://f24.my/Xen Bluesky: https://f24.my/BSen and Threads: https://f24.my/THen Browse the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen Discover our TikTok videos: https://f24.my/TKen Get the latest top stories on Telegram: https://f24.my/TGen