François Mitterrand: The Sphinx of the Fifth Republic

François Mitterrand: The Sphinx of the Fifth RepublicBy Julien PeltierHe was the longest-serving president in French history — a man of paradoxes, secrets, and unshakable composure. François Mitterrand came to power in 1981 with a Socialist programme that promised transformation. By the end of his fourteen years at the Élysée, he had reshaped France, bound it more tightly to Europe, and left behind a legacy both celebrated and contested.Julien Peltier takes us inside the shifting worlds of Mitterrand’s presidency: the exhilaration of early reforms, the sharp turn to austerity, the unprecedented “cohabitations” with political rivals, and the grand design of the Maastricht Treaty. Alongside the public triumphs, we see the shadows — the guarded illness, the political scandals, and the carefully concealed private life.From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the gardens of the Élysée, this is a portrait of power as performance, strategy, and endurance. Mitterrand was not simply a politician; he was a master of time, shaping events by outlasting his opponents and holding his silence until it served him.With vivid scenes, intimate detail, and the elegance of a political novel,François Mitterrand: The Sphinx of the Fifth Republicreveals the man behind the mystery — and the price of fourteen years at France’s summit.This is the fourth volume in the acclaimedPresidents of the Fifth Republicseries, followingCharles de Gaulle: The Last Giant,Georges Pompidou: The President of Modern France, andValéry Giscard d’Estaing: The Modernizer.For readers of political biography, European history, and the art of power.Read more