Representative Roles and Legislative Behavior in France

This article explores conceptions of the representative role among French parliamentary candidates in 1967 and 1968 and considers the implications of those conceptions for the legislative behavior of candidates elected to the Assembly. Unlike U. S. Congressmen and Dutch MPs, French deputies regard the party caucus, rather than their own conscience or constituency opinion, as the chief determinant of their vote. Variations in the importance attributed to the caucus predict deputies' defections from group discipline. Candidates' role conceptions differ from those of the voters, even after controlling for party preferences. Defections from party discipline increase congruence between deputies' votes and constituency opinion.