• Preface; Introduction; Part I. The Breaking-Up of Traditional Class Structures: 1. The bourgeois, the workers and the peasants; 2. The transformation of the social classes: the triumph of the central constellation; Part II. The De-Mystification of the Great National Institutions: 3. The army and the church; 4. Working-class institutions; 5. The national education system; 6. The new national consensus; 7. A village democracy; Part III. The Stages of Life: 8. The strength of kinship; 9. Men and women; 10. Young and old; Part IV. A New Civilisation: 11. Changing lifestyles; 12. The cultural explosion; 13. A moral revolution?; Bibliography; Index.

"He offers a wide-ranging and generally persuasive description and analysis of changes which have taken place in French society since the mid-1960s. His book is well paced and full of provocative insights, like his argument that the French are mistrustful of representative democracy and favor a form of direct democracy through election of national politicians who also hold local office....I was particularly interested by Mendras's appreciation of post-1968 'cultural liberals,' his analyses of the church and its offshoots, and his perceptive comments on the increasing importance of senior citizens. Because Social Change in Modern France requires little specialized background knowledge, it would work well in an undergraduate course on modern French culture in a U.S. college." Donald Reid, Social Science Quarterly