French National Election Study, 1995

This national survey was conducted to study the attitudes and opinions of the French electorate during election year 1995. Information is provided on respondents' interest in politics, ideological leanings, voting behavior, party choice in the 1994 European elections, choice of presidential candidate in the first and second ballot of the 1995 French national elections, perceptions of the French presidential candidates' positions on the ideological spectrum and respondents' feelings about each of them, party preference and level of commitment, and the effect of television on respondents' choice of presidential candidates. Other data items cover respondents' opinions about Francois Mitterrand as president, the Socialists' last 14 years as the ruling party, women's role in society, state intervention in civil society, social change, democracy in France, and the relative importance of various problems facing France, such as France's international status, the building of the European Union, social welfare, unemployment, immigration, education, the environment, and AIDS. Additional variables examine respondents' attitudes with respect to equality, feminism, solidarity, nationalization, trade unions, authority, perceived anti-social behavior, Islam, the United States, Germany, Europe, and Catholicism. Other items probe respondents' opinions about the economy, their present and future personal financial situations, their identification with people from the same neighborhood, region, age, profession, social class, gender, religion, and political ideology, their opinions about immigrants in France, the ideological left and right, homosexuality, the death penalty, moslem mosques in France, and abortion. Demographic data collected on respondents include age, sex, marital status, educational level, assets, occupation, employment status, income level, social status, and religion.