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The presidentialisation of Western democracies is a significant trend of post-war political history, notably in France. But although the strengthening of executive power has narrowed the reach of the legislative branch, it has not eliminated it completely. By studying the genesis of the 1981-1982 French Nationalisation Law championed by the French Socialist government, this article challenges the cliché of Socialist “yes-men” entirely submissive to François Mitterrand’s “imperial presidency”. Their ideological defeat dispels the illusion of an institutional practice during the Fifth Republic that was unique to the Left. From an economic perspective, it also foreshadowed the marginalisation of those faithful to a “strong state”, a concept that had been supported by most elected Socialists, in the name of the “Changer la vie” platform during the previous decade.