Constitution of the Left

As the Constituent Assembly closed six months of bitter politics, it was clear that France's 14th constitution since1791 would be a Constitution of the Left. Communists and Socialists had beaten down again & again a determined Right-and-Center assault led by the Catholic M.R.P.

At the start of the constitutional debate last fall, everyone recognized that the great defect in the Third Republic's Constitution was administrative instability; 106 Cabinets had fallen in 70 years. The M.R.P. wanted to achieve stability with a stronger executive. The Socialists argued for legally enforced party discipline. Both these proposals were beaten. It remained a question whether the proposed new Constitution would stabilize France's stormy politics.

Besides a stronger executive, the M.R.P. wanted a bicameral legislature and an independent judiciary; on all counts it was outvoted by narrow majorities. Its spokesmen--eloquent Maurice Schumann and quiet Francois de Menthon--warned against "government by the Assembly. " Veteran Radical-Socialist Edouard Herriot echoed them: "This will inevitably mean dictatorship by the majority party. . . . Separation of legislative and executive powers, the essential foundation of democracy, has been cast to the winds."

The Communists paid no heed, held out implacably for government by parties in an all-powerful Parliament. Their most incisive, ironic orator was tubby Party Secretary Jacques Duclos, who cried: "Perhaps some fear that the first party of France [i.e., the Communist, which has about 25% of the voters] may choose the premier."

The unhappy Socialists sought, and could not find, a way to keep up the fagade of three-party unity; they tagged along with Duclos & Co. Their leader, President Felix Gouin, fretted: "The defeat of the Constitution would be dangerous for the interests of the country ... a catastrophe on the eve of the peace conference. ..."

The M.R.P. and the Right were not persuaded. The final vote was tense and tight. President Gouin cast a white cardboard ballot, meaning yes. Foreign Minister Georges Bidault of the M.R.P. followed with a blue slip, meaning no. When all the tallies were in, the Communist-Socialist combine had won, 309 to 249. The proposed Constitution for the Fourth Republic went to the French people for approval or rejection.

All Power to the Parties! Leftists praised their document as a fresh line in the Republican revolutionary tradition of France. The Rightist Paris Monde called it a reflection of the totalitarian tendencies of the time.

Highlights among 127 Articles: The nature of the new Republic is thus defined: "France is a republic, indivisible, democratic and socially unified [sociale]. The national emblem is a tricolor flag, blue, white and red in three vertical bands. The motto of the Republic is 'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.' "

A single National Assembly will exercise legislative, executive and judicial powers. It will be elected by direct, popular vote. Unless dissolved by government or parliamentary crises, it will sit for five years. Two advisory bodies--an Economic Council and a Council of the French Union--will help the legislators in economic and colonial matters. The Senate of the Third Republic, which exercised a conservative influence, is scrapped.

Suffrage is extended to all men & women down to the age of 20.

The Assembly will choose both the President and Premier of the Republic. The President will be even more a figurehead than in the Third Republic. Cracked one commentator: his chief duty will be to "inaugurate fairs and kindergartens."

The historic 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man has been rewritten. The old freedom of thought, conscience and expression is assured. The M.R.P. tried to strengthen this with a specific guarantee of freedom of the press (not contained in the Third Republic's Constitution of 1875). But the Communists and Socialists refused, ostensibly to prevent the re-emergence of the Third Republic's notoriously venal newspapers.

Revolutionary departures for a French Bill of Rights were economic guarantees (following the pattern of the Soviet Rus sian Constitution): the right of every citizen to a job, to a livelihood if he is incapacitated and cannot work, to private property acquired "through work and savings." But private property is also curbed: "every undertaking whose exploitation has, or acquires, the character of a public service or of a monopoly in fact must become the property of the community." With this provision, nationalization of key industries is constitutionally sanctioned.

The Ultimate Decision. On May 5 the French people will hold a referendum on the Constitution of the Left. The M.R.P., still at week's end the third pillar of the Gouin Government, seemed determined to campaign against it, though such action might force it to withdraw from the administration. If the people reject the proposed Constitution, they will vote, on June 2, for a new Assembly to draft another version. If they accept it, the June election will choose the first National Assembly of the Fourth Republic.

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