Four main political forces have dominated French politics since the declaration of the Fifth Republic in 1958: the neo-Gaullists, their allies in the non-Gaullist right or centre-right, the Socialists and the Communists. (The first three movements, in turn, have been dominated by énarques, graduates of the prominent Ecole Nationale d'Administration.) Jean-Marie Le Pen, the far-right's most prominent voice, occasionally manages to get attention, most recently for claiming to have predicted the urban riots of October-November 2005.
Jacques Chirac, leader of the neo-Gaullists, won France's presidential election for the second time in 2002. His prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, managed to pass several reforms, including some dealing with pensions. But these were unpopular, and in regional elections in March 2004 Mr Chirac's forces lost most of France to the Socialists. A second blow came with the rejection of the EU constitution in a referendum in May 2005. To assuage popular anger, Mr Chirac replaced Mr Raffarin with Dominique de Villepin, an énarque. Some observers would have preferred Nicolas Sarkozy, a popular non-énarque who was instead named interior minister. With the 72-year-old Mr Chirac unlikely to seek a third term, Mr de Villepin and Mr Sarkozy have become potential successors and fierce rivals.
(See also our Country Briefing on France)