Popular Support and Electoral Record
The PS's pattern of support has evolved significantly since its creation and since the days of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO). However, certain strongholds remain remarkably stable. For example, the PS dominates the rural areas of the south-west of France (notably the Midi-Pyrénées), an old SFIO base. These rural regions voted Socialist as a protest against Parisian centralism, though they were amongst the first republican and laïc regions of France.
While the PS used to be weak in the major wealthy urban centres of the southwest, such as Toulouse, the PS has made gains with middle class urban voters nationwide and is the largest party in almost all major French cities.
The PS is also strong in areas which used to be strongholds of the French Communist Party: the mining and industrial areas of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, the left-wing rural Limousin, and various industrial centres around France.
In recent years, thanks to urbanisation and most notably the decline of religious practice, it has made significant gains in regions such as Brittany or the Pays de la Loire. For example, Ségolène Royal won the Breton department of Ille-et-Vilaine with 52.39% – while losing nationally – while Mitterrand has won only 38.88% in 1974 (49.19% nationwide). This trend has also been observed in Catholic departments such as Lozère, Cantal and Haute-Loire (though the Socialists were already strong in secular logging areas).
Past support in rural region Provence, such as in the Var (formerly the "Red Var") has practically evaporated with the influx of wealthier residents, Pied-Noir and pensioners. Ironically, the region is now one of the PS' worst regions.
The PS is also strong in the department of the Nièvre, Mitterrand's electoral base.
Read more about this topic: Socialist Party (France)
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