Structures of Power in Modern France

Traditionally, France has been viewed as host to a unique set of tensions between the centre and the periphery, dating back to the Revolution and beyond, which has shaped its structures of power and marked its evolution as a modern society. This survey provides an overview of those tensions between a centralising state and the constituencies challenging it, and asks whether that model can remain viable or whether it is not, in fact, undergoing a process of profound change.