In the framework of the research project CITREP, more than 30 French MPs have been accompanied in their districts usually for three days each. The data of these observations along with the answers on semi-standardized interview at the end of each observation will be mobilized in this paper in order to identify representational styles of the MPs. We will answer to the following questions:
Does the type of activities of MPs differs a lot, or do they all the same things?
Can we distinguish between active MPs (focus on leading) and reactive MPs (focus on listening)?
Does the policy domains mentioned during the events in the constituency depend on the type of activity or on the specialization of the MP? Do MPs for instance speak about economy when they meet representatives of private enterprises and about social issues and culture when attending social events? Are some MPs specialists talking mainly about one issue (e. g. Environment, immigration )?
Does the fact whether the interview is conducted in Paris or in constituency influences the answers of the MPs?
Our hypothesis is that each MP has not two representational styles, one for his work in Paris and a second one for his work back home, but that they are two sights of the same coin and intrinsically tied one to the other. We assume therefor that each MP has only one unified representational style.
Instead of considering the work of French MPs in two dimension- the national and the local one- our findings suggest that three main dimension have to be taken into account in order to identify representational styles of the French MPs: the work in Paris, the events during which they meet the citizens of their constituency and the written communication of the MPs with the citizens of their constituency.
