43

What role did the European issue play in the domestic policy programmes and in voter choice during the 2012 French presidential election? Using three different datasets (manifestos, campaign speeches and the Cevipof post-electoral opinion poll), our results unveil the disturbing impact of the European issue. The candidates’ speeches show a double focus of denouncing and politicising (revealing a left-right structure opposing welfare state andsovereign state) which echoes citizens’ worries. Our article confirms the bi-dimensionality of attitudes towards Europe. As these two dimensions do not have the same influence on electoral behaviour, our results suggest that the debate over the role of European integration in the emergence of a new political cleavage is far from settled.