The Providential Man

FRANCE The Providential Man Out of the kaleidoscopic confusion of events in France emerged two arresting facts. In his first seven days in power Charles de Gaulle had managed to give his country firmer government than it had known in the preceding seven years. And in the process the stiff old soldier from Colombey-les-Deux Eglises had displayed precisely the two qualities his critics insisted that he lacked--a talent for conciliation and a mastery of political maneuver worthy of a Talleyrand or a Tammany sachem.

The first glimpse of the new De Gaulle came early in the week when the National Assembly, in a characteristic bit of legislative haggling, attempted to tie the general's hands by proposing that if he wanted to change the French constitution, he would have to have Assembly approval before his plan could be submitted to popular referendum. The manner in which De Gaulle beat off this threat--he rushed over to the Assembly and threatened to resign on the spot--was out of his old bag of tricks. He got his powers at 12:30 a.m., and by a 350 to 163 vote. Since this was a three-fifths majority, he was free to submit his new constitution directly to the people.

The Final Proof. What was novel about his performance was his willingness to save the Assembly's face by entering into the parliamentary game. He answered questions skillfully. When one right-wing speaker compared him to Robespierre, who started the Terror and in the end died by it, De Gaulle (according to Figaro Litteeraire) turned to Minister of State Guy Mollet and murmured, "Curious. I always thought I was Jeanne d'Arc and Bonaparte. How little one knows oneself."

In a brief speech De Gaulle paid tribute to opponents (such as ex-Premier Pierre Mendees-France) "to whom I remain attached by bonds which held firm in the past and which will, I think, hold firm in the future."

When he was questioned as to the Assembly's prospects for survival under his regime, De Gaulle's answer brought involuntary roars of laughter from the Deputies, all of whom are keenly conscious of his deep-seated contempt for their past shenanigans. Purred De Gaulle: "The final proof that I have no intention of depriving myself of an Assembly elected by universal suffrage is, dear sir. the pleasure and honor that I find in being among you tonight."

With Parliament under control--it went on a four-month "vacation" the following day--De Gaulle faced to the most overriding threat to public order: the continued defiance from Algiers. For four days, both in Paris and Algeria, he maneuvered endlessly to bring the 500,000 soldiers and 1,000,000 European civilians in Algeria back under the authority of the central government. (The general's only nonofficial appointment during this period: a brief chat with naval Lieut. Commander Philippe de Gaulle, *a gangling carbon copy of the Charles de Gaulle of 30 years ago.) By a virtuoso's blend of compromise and judicious pressure (see below), De Gaulle succeeded in restoring some degree of discipline in the army, thereby nullifying the civil war threat of the right-wing civilian ultras of Algiers.

The Price of Napoleons. The second crisis immediately facing France--the real prospect of international bankruptcy --De Gaulle put in the capable hands of grey little Antoine Pinay, the man who "saved the franc" in 1952. (No economist, De Gaulle last week waved off Pinay's one attempt to outline an economic policy to him with the comment: "As I said, you're my Finance Minister.") Pointing unhappily to the fact that France's deficit with the European Payments Union ran $76.6 million in May, Pinay flatly warned that France probably would have to defer meeting its obligation to ease tariffs and import quotas under the European Common Market treaty. Simultaneously, he opened negotiations with the U.S. to defer payment of $54 million due on U.S. loans to France at the end of this month. So great is Pinay's prestige with French businessmen that, despite these gloomy announcements, prices on the Paris Bourse began to climb and the price of gold Napoleons--always a measure of French public confidence in a government--sank from the crisis level of 4,000 francs to a mere 3,600.

While Pinay coped with the economy, De Gaulle with unflagging energy plunged at last into the problem that he believes underlies all the rest of France's political difficulties: the nation's lack of a strong executive. Late in the week, after a brisk Cabinet meeting, De Gaulle emerged with a tentative plan to have his proposed constitutional reforms, including major changes in the relations between France and its empire, ready for a referendum on Oct. 5. Amidst predictions of disaster from France's pessimists, he also announced that municipal elections--the first in six years--would be held in revolt-torn Algeria next month.

White Gloves & Scarlet Braid. At week's end, as the tumult in France began to subside, a covey of cars laden with luggage drew up before the Hotel Matignon, official residence of France's Premiers, and quiet, motherly Yvonne de Gaulle set about a practiced housekeeper's inspection of her new home. She had already ordered two cocktail dresses and two evening gowns from Couturier Jacques Heim. The only visible change made in deference to the new occupants of the Hotel Matignon was the sight of the guards: normally clad in quiet blue uniforms, they had blossomed out in more regal white gloves, white belts, and great swatches of scarlet braid. And the usually bored ushers, who had seen more than two dozen French Premiers come and go since the war, crowded the windows to witness the arrival of the slightly paunchy, stiff and self-assured Premier who looked as if he would be around for a while.

*The elder of De Gaulle's two surviving children. His second child, Elizabeth, 32, is married to an army colonel on service in Algeria. The De Gaulles' youngest child, Anne, was feeble-minded and weak of body, and because she needed it most, got most of her parents' affection until her death at 18 in 1948 of bronchopneumonia. In her memory, Madame de Gaulle founded and still supervises the Anne de Gaulle home for retarded children.

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