CEPEL

Arnaud HUC

Career History

  • 2018–: Member of the Platform for the Observation of Urban Projects and Strategies (Montpellier).
  • 2017–2019: Temporary teaching and research assistant at the University of Montpellier.
  • 2014–2017: Master’s thesis in Political Science. Topic: A comparative study of Front National voting patterns in southeastern and northern France.

Thesis Abstract

Often regarded as a breeding ground for the National Front, France’s suburban areas have moved from the spotlight into the shadows. Seeking to move beyond this common and stigmatizing label, this dissertation aims to examine in detail National Front voting patterns in suburban areas. Drawing on four cities located in the Pas-de-Calais and Bouches-du-Rhône departments and through comparative analysis, the sociological profiles of National Front voters are examined. Complementing this sociological study is an effort to explain why certain suburban areas seem to generate a voting pattern that some describe as a retreat. The various methods used demonstrate that in peri-urban areas, as elsewhere, the Front National vote is not a given, but rather the result of specific social, residential, and ideological trajectories. Furthermore, the FN vote presents a different, even contradictory, face in the Pas-de-Calais and Bouches-du-Rhône departments, thus contrasting a working-class electorate in the north with a more affluent electorate in the Mediterranean departments.

Articles in peer-reviewed journals

  • Coming soon: Huc Arnaud, “The Northern FN vs. the Southern FN? A Socio-Geographical Analysis of Le Pen’s Electorate in 2017,” Revue Française de Science Politique, to be published in April 2019.
  • Coming soon: Huc Arnaud, Négrier Emmanuel, “Occitanie Put to the Test of Political Cultures” (working title), Pôle Sud, 2019/1, no. 50.
  • Huc Arnaud, “On Two Works Examining the FN Vote from a Local Perspective: Violaine Girard, *Le vote FN au village*, and Christèle Marchand-Lagier, *Le vote FN*,” “Lectures,” Pôle Sud, 2018/2, no. 49, pp. 122–125.
  • Huc Arnaud et al., “Two Political Regions in One? The 2017 Elections in Occitanie,” Pôle Sud 2018/1, no. 48, pp. 113–135.
  • Huc Arnaud, Négrier Emmanuel, “THE NATIONAL FRONT, FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE… A look at three books that offer a fresh perspective on the National Front phenomenon: Nicolas Lebourg, *Letter to the French Who Believe That Five Years of the Far Right Would Put France Back on Its Feet*, Paris, Les Échappés, 2016, 132 pp. Thierry Beinstinge, *Faux nègres*, Paris, Fayard, 2014, 422 pp. René Escudié, Chronique des Journées de la Honte, Vol. 1 & 2, Bookelis; 2015, 1242 pp.,” “Lectures,” Pôle Sud, 2016/2, no. 45, pp. 155–170.
  • Huc Arnaud, “André Donzel, *LE NOUVEL ESPRIT DE MARSEILLE*, Paris: L’Harmattan, ‘Questions Urbaines’ series, 2014, 176 pp.,” “Lectures,” *Pôle Sud*, 2016/1, no. 44, pp. 165–175.

Articles in edited volumes

  • Forthcoming: David Gouard, Arnaud Huc, Jean-Paul Volle, Stéphane Coursière, “From Occitanism to Occitania: Territories, Voters, and Political Cultures” (working title), in Vincent Simoulin and Emmanuel Négrier, *The Invention of Occitania* (to be published in late 2020).

Presentations at conferences

  • Huc Arnaud, “Newly Elected Local Front National Officials: ‘Over-Politicized’ Representatives Aimed at Repoliticizing Local Assemblies? – A Comparative Study of Two Municipal Officials from the Rassemblement Bleu Marine,” AFSP Congress 2017, ST36 – Local Power: Between Politicization and Depoliticization, 2017, 12 pp.
  • Huc Arnaud, Smyrl Marc, “Suburban Populism – A French/American Comparison,” After Suburbia: Extended Urbanization and Life on the Planet’s Periphery Conference, Toronto, 2017, 22 pp.

Degrees

  • 2017 PhD dissertation, defended on December 13, 2017, at the University of Montpellier (Committee: Emmanuel Négrier, Nonna Mayer, Florence Haegel, Alain Faure, Paul Alliès, Christophe Roux)
  • 2014 Master’s Degree in Comparative Politics and Public Policy at the University of Montpellier I – Summa Cum Laude
  • 2013 Master’s Degree in Political Science at the University of Montpellier I
  • 2012 Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Political Science from Jean Moulin Lyon III University
  • 2009 General Baccalaureate, Science Track, with a specialization in Engineering Sciences.

Awards, Honors, and Coordination of or Participation in Research Projects

  • 2015 Regional Council Award: Best Work on a Topic of Regional Interest, awarded for a thesis on the sociology of voting for the National Front in the suburban town of Frontignan.