To access full paper downloads, participants are encouraged to install the official Event App, available on the App Store.
Abstract
This study investigates empirically the rise of a feeling of rejection towards welfare recipients in contemporary France and its link to the rise of the far right: how has the position of French citizens towards the welfare state evolved over the last few decades? How can these changes be explained in terms of shifts in public policy, economic conditions, sociodemographic composition, and the radicalization of certain segments of the population toward xenophobia? What links can be made between these phenomena and the electoral successes of the far right? In order to tackle empiricaly these questions, this paper draws on first-hand data from two annual surveys (DREES, CREDOC) conducted since 1988 and post-election surveys conducted since 2007.
The results show an unprecedented increase in criticism of the Revenu de Solidarité Active (RSA), while other more general indicators remain relatively stable. Three main factors are analyzed to explain this trend. The first consists of reconstructing the changes in the political context and public policy reforms (from the RMI to the RSA, for example, in 2008) over the period. The second investigates the possible correlation with the economic climate, in particular the recessions of 1993 and 2008, which led to an overall decline in criticism of social policies. Finally, the third consists of distinguishing between, on the one hand, so-called composition effects linked to changes in French society, such as rising educational attainment and ageing, and, on the other hand, the effects of variables for which data show that the empirical link with this criticism intensified over the period: this decomposition is investigated through a Oaxaca modelization. This procedure identifies strong "variable effects" regarding the criticism of immigration, which echoes a trend already showed for the United States in the 2000s (Kellstedt, 2003), but which is here established, empirically documented, and dated for the case of contemporary France.
