The Social Origins of Political Regionalism: France, 1849-1981

William Brustein’s The Social Origins of Political Regionalism: France 1849–1981 tackles a central puzzle in modern French history: why regions with similar agrarian economies—like Argentré-du-Plessis in Brittany and Bonnieux in Provence—have persistently voted in opposite ideological blocs for more than a century. Brustein notes that while western France has consistently aligned with the Right, Mediterranean France has been just as reliably Left, a striking divergence visible in national l...