French Interest Groups: Between the French Exception, Europe, and the World

By Emiliano Grossman, Sabine Saurugger
English

The purpose of this paper is to present an up-to-date study of the French system for representing interests. Although few studies have been made of them, French interest groups are undergoing a period of profound change. We have identified three challenges that seem to lie at the root of the current transformations: European integration, globalization, and the questioning of the role of the State in France. Responses to these challenges vary. We are witnessing the renewal of groups? organizational structures, the questioning of traditional power relations in certain key sectors, and the emergence of new groups and a process of professionalization of political lobbying activities, which are increasingly delegated to a growing number of specialist consultancies. We notably demonstrate the opportunity offered by the increasing number of interest groups in a context of representational crisis, the capacity of French interest groups to adapt to requirements at a community level, and even their capacity to make strategic use of it and the emergence of a "global" arena.

Keywords

Go to the article on Cairn-int.info