The publication of the book Stealth Democracy (Hibbing, Thiess-Morse, 2002) has opened a wide debate between those arguing that citizens do not want to participate more than necessary in political decision-making (ibid.; Donovan Bowler Karp, 2007) and those claiming that citizens want to participate more directly in decision-making (Neblo et al., 2009). This paper will both discuss the methodology and introduce the results of an investigation conducted in France, reproducing the initial methodology of Hibbing and Thiess-Morse. On the basis of eight focus groups formed by: working class, upper class, university students, young people in apprenticeships, militants in local associations, alter-globalization militants, right and left wing activists, we will explore the French citizens’ preferences for more or less participation in political decision-making. Initial results indicate contrasted conclusions from the Stealth democracy’s argument and invite to explore more precisely the sociological conditions of the various perceptions of the democratic system.
