Apres Moi, la Confusion

Seldom had the leader of a free society treated his nation with such con tempt. Last week as Charles de Gaulle delivered himself of his long-awaited decision to run again for the presidency, few Frenchmen were surprised, but all France might well have felt insulted by his reasoning. "Should the public's frank and massive support call on me to remain in office," De Gaulle de- clared, "the future of the Republic will be resolutely assured. If not, no one doubts that it will immediately collapse, and that France will undergo -- this time without possible recourse -- a national disorder even more disastrous than that which she knew before."

Do words mean what they say? Was De Gaulle suggesting that the seven years of his first term had failed to build a stable France that could survive the death of its architect? France today enjoys a prosperity and stability --both economic and political--unmatched since before World War I.

Since this is not likely to vanish overnight, De Gaulle's speech said much more about his state of mind than about his country. Le Monde sarcastically likened the De Gaulle choice to one between heaven and hell: "If it is to be paradise, for how much more time? And if the inevitable toll of time condemns us in any case to hell, what good are the extra years of grace?"

Imperiousness had pervaded the announcement from start to finish. Hav- ing decided that 8 p.m. would be the most propitious hour to make it, le grand Charles called radio and television crews into the Elysee Palace's Salle des Fetes two hours before that. Then, for eight minutes, he spoke forcefully and eloquently into the cameras and microphones. After an instant replay to assure that the proper grandeur had been captured, De Gaulle drank a champagne toast with the 25 technicians, then ordered them not to leave the premises until broadcast time--to ensure that the decision would not leak in advance.

With only three weeks to go before the Dec. 5 election, De Gaulle is far ahead of his five rivals: most opinion polls give him a 3-2 edge in the field. As Carlyle once said, "France was long a despotism tempered by epigrams." Now, apparently, no more epigrams.

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