This book is at once a valuable review of the 1974- 81 period as well as a revealing account of what has changed since then and what, despite the rhetoric, has not. The contributors cover a number of areas important to French presidency and demonstrate the existence of a surprising degree of continuity in terms of both policy and personnel. They will be welcomed by all students of French politics as providing the basis for a fuller assessment of the successes and shortcomings of the Mitterrand years.