French electoral geography - 2 comments

I wasn't expecting to post about this, but a comparison of the 2007 département map, and one from 1974, when Mitterand trailed in second to Giscard d'Estaing, is interesting:

2007:


1974:


OK, the gap in 1974 was 1.62 points, rather than 6.12 in 2007, so we'd expect more pink on the second map, but what's interesting is the geographical shift in support.

Take the North: apart from Pas de Calais, which Royal took by just over 4 points, the Socialists have disappeared. Isn't that supposed to be the industrial heartland? [this thought, via]

The Socialists have also disappeared from the South-east. Gard and Bouches-du-Rhône were won convincingly in 1974, but went to Sarkozy with majorities of 12 and 16 points respectively in 2007. The centre, too, isn't looking too strong (Centre and Bourgogne).

Pyrénées-Atlantiques (far South-west) shows a definite shift to the left, but generally Socialist support seems to have shifted decisively towards Brittany on the western tip.

I'm curious to know what this all means. Though I could probably whip up the relevant maps to prove my point, I suspect that a UK electoral map from the 2005 General Election would probably not differ much from an October 1974 one, if held at arm's length - at least from a red/blue point of view.

Update (08/05): See also: "French electorate splits into two tribes of young and old", via.