Three main features of French farmers' electoral behaviour are pointed out : firstly their well hnown preference for the right and reluctance towards Communist Party, as well as a less commonly emphasized propensity to vote for the Socialist Party, which did not begin in 1981. Secondly their environment and income structures cannot be neglected in explaining their attitudes. Finally, agricultural workers, although in small number, are, nowadays, more leftist than their employers, while their behaviour was about the same ten years ago. This is lessened when they belong to a farmer's family. Two sets of methods have been used here : first the results of existing opinion polls have been examined. Second, an «ecological» analysis of the outcomes of the last five parliamentary and presidential elections has been performed, on data at the départemental level and from a sample of «communes».
