When the Socialists arrived in power in 1981, the word of the day was changement, and the people dancing in the streets of Paris seemed to indicate an exuberant optimism for the political and economic future. Now, with the 1986 legislative elections approaching, the Right seems almost certain to win; public opinion appears to have swung against the Left in power. If people take to the streets today, whether they be angry parents d’élèves or workers, they are more than likely to be protesting against the Socialists. Has the Left in power proved to be incompetent? Have they mismanaged political power, or have they misunderstood their constituency? That a changement has occurred there is little doubt, but the changes do not seem to be those expected. In last spring’s colloquia at New York University’s Institute of French Studies various aspects of the practice of the Left in power and the changing context in which that power is exercised were examined.