The French National Assembly Elections of 1978, edited by Howard R. Penniman, analyzes the elections that were widely expected to bring the left to power in France. Instead they gave the center-right coalition-which in one guise or another has ruled France since the creation of the Fifth Republic-a slim lead in the popular vote and a decisive majority in the National Assembly. The Socialists and Communists, vying for predominance on the left, were...