Painless Transition?

In the coalfields of the Pas-de-Calais, 30,000 Communist-led miners went on strike. That was enough to jar the delicate balance of French politics and set in motion a realignment of parties which may bring De Gaulle to power this spring.

Premier Schuman's slim majority in the Assembly had been growing slimmer. Last week in one parliamentary battle he won by only three votes. The balance of power was in the hands of deputies calling themselves the U.D.S.R. (Democratic and Socialist Republican Union), who abstained rather than cause a crisis by voting against him.

Friendly Gesture. As Schuman's shaky government floundered, Rene Pleven, unofficial leader of the U.D.S.R., stepped up with a life preserver--with a long string to it. Pleven's proposition: if Schuman would promise to hold early elections (which the Gaullists would probably win), then the Gaullist R.P.F. would support him as an interim, anti-Communist premier. No longer would Schuman have to squeak by with dwindling majorities.

Two weeks ago Pleven had laid the groundwork for his deal. He told De Gaulle that though the R.P.F. would probably come to power, after a series of parliamentary crises, the Communists might meanwhile start a violent insurrection. "What is necessary," said Pleven, "is to organize a painless transition. You should make some friendly gesture toward those leaders of the present regime for whom you have personal respect."

"On va y refiechir (we'll think about it)," replied De Gaulle. He then added a sentence to his Compiegne speech (TIME, March 15) which startled French politicians. De Gaulle, who has never had a kind word for the Schuman government, said: ". . . What has to be done is too much for the potentialities of the present regime, however great the value and good will, which are undeniable, of some men."

As Strong as Possible. The reference to "some men" in the present government was enough to start Pleven on the second stage of his search for a painless transition. He called on Robert Schuman. Over an austere Schuman dinner of soup, omelet, vegetables and mineral water, Pleven proposed his deal. Schuman was undecided.

Last week, Pleven brought his proposition half into the open. In a careful statement to the press he reviewed the familiar facts of crisis in Western Europe. "In the face of these eventualities," he concluded, "I consider it is in the interests of France, Europe and peace that there should be as strong a government as possible in France. By strong, I mean reposing on the biggest possible majority of the French people. . . . National interest demands an understanding . . . between General de Gaulle and Robert Schuman."

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