France Since The Second World War

Few nations better represent the changes experienced by humanity since the Second World War than France. In the years since 1945 France has had to rebuild political structures shattered by the war and German occupation, contend with dramatic economic growth and social change, carve out a place for itself in first a bi-polar then post Communist world, and adjust to the loss of formal Empire and create a new relationship with its former colonies. France since the Second World War provides a succinct and accessible introduction to contemporary French history. The book proceeds from a consideration of France's recovery from the Second World War to an analysis of the socioeconomic changes wrought during the period known as the "Trente Glorieuses" (the thirty years of postwar prosperity). The book addresses:

• the evolution of French colonialism from Empire to Francophone Union
• changes in French cultural and intellectual life
• the challenge of the era of scarcity after 1973
• immigration, racial conflict and the rise of the extreme right
• France's new relations with Europe in the post-Soviet and Maastricht era

Containing a wide variety of documents, Chronology, Glossary and Who's Who guide to key characters, France Since the Second World War provides an indispensable introduction to the history of modern France.

Tyler Stovall is Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

This new introductory guide provides a succinct history of postwar France. Professor Stovall covers political, social and economic developments from the immediate postwar years and France's economic recovery up to the Mitterand era; including the rise of the far Right. He also he looks at French international relations; the new relations with Europe in the post-Soviet era, French-US relations and the relationship with her empire including the wars in Indochina and Algeria. The study is supported by chronologies, biographies of the key players and a guide to further reading.