Memoirs with Rage

Except for a few quiet outings, including an Armistice Day pilgrimage to World War I battlefields, Charles de Gaulle has stayed close to his country place at Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises since his retirement in April. The general, who turned 79 last month, has seen few visitors, but his most respected biographer, Raymond Tournoux of Paris-Match magazine, reports that he has by no means turned marmoreal. As Tournoux tells it, De Gaulle paces his garden, rails at events and "prepares for death like a man who has not stopped thinking of it for several years." He has rejected plans for a grand, Churchillian funeral, declaring that "there won't be any big spectacle for De Gaulle." Otherwise, he devotes his days to his Memoirs of Peace. Fearing pre-publication "indiscretions," De Gaulle has insisted that only his daughter in Paris be allowed to type his manuscript--perhaps understandably. Each morning the old general listens to the 8 o'clock news, says Tournoux, then sits down to write, "almost with rage."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.