It was another case of cohabitation between rival parties at the head of the state and of the government (Jacques Chirac as president and Lionel Jospin as prime minister).
Following the failure of the left in the 2002 legislative election, it was replaced by another conservative government, this time headed by Jean-Pierre Raffarin.
But the policy of Socialist leader François Mitterrand, elected President of France in 1981, did not correspond exactly to this programme, notably since 1983.
Responding to the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the USSR, Hue campaigned on broadening the PCF's electoral base.
[2] The decision surprised many: although it was the fourth dissolution from a directly-elected President, it was most importantly the first one for no given reason - inspired perhaps by the Westminster tradition.
There was little to no platform agreement[3] The final results: The balance of power was clear: Socialists were the driving force, and their lack of cohesion might be fixed by the other parties.
In his government, not counting secretaries of state (the third tier in the hierarchy), there were: In 2000, Jean-Pierre Chevènement resigned because of his opposition to negotiations with the nationalists of Corsica.
Preparing his candidacy for the 2002 presidential election, he criticized the governmental policy and proposed to rally the "Republicans of the left and the right".
The Economy ministers, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and later Laurent Fabius, were accused of being social liberals because of the privatisation of public companies.
Finally, those who were disappointed by the "Plural Left" voted for the Trotskyist candidates (Arlette Laguiller, Olivier Besancenot, Daniel Gluckstein).
In the first round, Jospin (PS) obtained 16.2%, Chevènement (MDC) 5.3%, Noël Mamère (the Greens) 5.2%, Hue (PCF) 3.4%, Christiane Taubira (PRG) 2.3%.