CEPEL

Arnaud HUC

Career History

  • 2018–: Participation in 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: Ph.D. 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, peri-urban areas in France have moved from the spotlight into the shadows. Seeking to move beyond this common and stigmatizing label, this dissertation aims to study in detail National Front voting patterns in peri-urban areas. Drawing on four cities located in the Pas-de-Calais and Bouches-du-Rhône departments and using a comparative approach, this study examines the sociological profiles of National Front voters. Complementing this sociological analysis is an effort to explain why certain peri-urban areas seem to generate a voting pattern that some describe as a form of withdrawal. The various methods employed demonstrate that in peri-urban areas, as elsewhere, the National Front vote is not a given, but rather the result of specific social, residential, and ideological trajectories. Furthermore, the National Front vote presents a different—even contradictory—picture 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

  • Forthcoming: Huc Arnaud, “The Northern FN vs. the Southern FN? A Socio-Geographic Analysis of Le Pen’s Electorate in 2017,” Revue Française de Science Politique, to be published in April 2019.
  • Forthcoming: Huc Arnaud, Négrier Emmanuel, “Occitanie Put to the Test by Political Cultures” (working title), Pôle Sud, 2019/1, no. 50.
  • Huc Arnaud, “A Look at Two Works on 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 PERSPECTIVE… A look at three books that offer a different take on the National Front phenomenon: Nicolas Lebourg, *Letter to the French Who Believe That Five Years of the Far Right Would Get France Back on Its Feet*, Paris, Les Échappés, 2016, 132 pp.; Thierry Beinstinge, *Faux nègres*, Paris, Fayard, 2014, 422 pp. René Escudié, *Chronicle of the Days of Shame*, Volumes 1 & 2, Bookelis, 2015, 1,242 pp.”, “Readings,” *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* (forthcoming 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 2017 Conference, ST36 – Local Government: Between Politicization and Depoliticization, 2017, 12 pp.
  • Huc, Arnaud, and 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 (Master 2) in Comparative Politics and Public Policy at the University of Montpellier I – Summa Cum Laude
  • 2013 Master’s Degree (Year 1) 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.