Change and Strain within the French Far Right: The Political Careers of the Union de Defense des Commercants et Artisans and the Front national

Abstract

This essay will compare two social movements which adhere to the extreme-right tradition in French politics: the Union de Defense des Commercants et Artisans (U.D.C.A.) and the Front national (F.N.). In the first section, I will summarize the historical experiences of the two movements. In the second section, I will explore the ways in which each organization has addressed the Parsonian problems of support maintenance, adaption, goal achievement, and integration. I will pay particular attention to functions of ideology, methods of recruitment, styles of leadership, and movement organization.