La France de la Cinquième République par Anne T. Bouchet (review)

costumes and set design for a production generally considered a failure, particularly as very little has been written about this work; we also learn about the fragmentary yet fanciful approach de Chirico applied to both the costumes and sets of Le bal. It is in this final chapter that Bellow tackles issues that, in our digital age, have become critical: “What happens to works of art (and artists) when they grow old? Who is charged with their maintenance and upkeep? With their legacy?” (239). The chapter entitled “Fashioning New Women: Sonia Delaunay and Cléopâtre” deserves special attention, as Bellow’s detailed study of Delaunay’s complex role as an artist and mannequin places an often neglected emphasis on the role of women as both producers and consumers of culture in the early twentieth century. Bellow broadens our perspective of art as a destabilizing force and asks us to reconsider Wagner’s notion of a new form of total artwork and its relevance to contemporary works. As Bellow includes many illustrations and relevant details, the reader is immersed in the artistic universe of the Parisian Avant-Garde, which enables her to see the originality of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes at its best. Finally, it should be mentioned that the bibliography provides ample reference for further interdisciplinary research both in and beyond the realm of modernist study. This book will not only appeal to ballet aficionados and to those with a passion for dance in general, but also to scholars interested in broader debates on modernist art history and French culture. University of Toronto Catherine Gaughan Bouchet, Anne T. La France de la Cinquième République. Paris: Sciences Humaines, 2013. ISBN 978-2-36106-040-4. Pp. 415. 19 a. Bouchet offers an historical overview of the Fifth Republic, from its founding in 1958 to the 2012 presidential election.Although this narrative genre of history normally precludes in-depth analysis, the author cleverly avoids the pitfalls of most overviews— simplification and generalization—by providing just enough detail and analysis to justify her sweeping conclusions regarding the legacy of the seven presidents of the Fifth Republic. French political life is notoriously complex. In the nineteenth century alone France had a total of six different constitutions (seven if one counts Napoleon’s brief return to power known as Les cent jours). The Fifth Republic, by contrast, has been characterized by a great measure of stability and has withstood the test of time despite several crippling so-called cohabitations. The book takes a chronological approach and is divided into seven parts, one for each president, and focuses on their policies, including foreign policy, but it also examines the economic, demographic, and sociocultural transformation of France in the period 1958–2012. It was in a famous speech at Bayeux in 1946 that Charles de Gaulle first laid out the principles of a strong executive; unfortunately, his ideas fell on deaf ears because political parties across the board feared losing influence. The Fourth Republic, born in 1946, was a 280 FRENCH REVIEW 89.1 Reviews 281 compromise destined to become an encore of the divided Third Republic, blamed by many for the debacle of 1940.After leading the provisional government (1944–46), de Gaulle withdrew into the political wilderness to contemplate his next move but would have to wait until 1958, when his nation, embroiled in a bitter civil war in Algeria, once again called upon l’homme providentiel to assume the reins of government. De Gaulle created a new constitution ideally suited for his own leadership style, one that even the Socialist Mitterrand, author of the highly critical book Le coup d’état permanent, effortlessly would mold to his own persona, just like every other president ever since. In Bouchet’s work, de Gaulle emerges as the father of modern France, as the single most significant Frenchman of the twentieth century, his reputation largely unscathed, thanks as much to the solidity of the institutions he created as to the lessthan -providential nature of his six successors, who have been unable to resolve the problems that have plagued France ever since the end of the Trente Glorieuses: massive unemployment, growing social inequality, and loss...