Calling France's Bluff

French President Georges Pompidou last week learned to his embarrassment that Europe has outgrown the era of Charles de Gaulle. Frustrated by the "unrealistic dreams" of his fellow Europeans--that is, their desire to tiptoe toward supranationalism by strengthening existing Common Market institutions--Pompidou fell back on De Gaulle's favorite tactic of obstruction. He threatened to postpone the first summit of the expanded ten-nation EEC scheduled for Oct. 19-20 in Paris. Not long ago the threat would have sent neighboring statesmen scurrying for a compromise, but the general reaction from most West European capitals last week was: Go ahead and postpone it.

"Pompidou told us it was going to be his conference or no conference," said Belgian Foreign Minister Pierre Harmel. Under those conditions, Harmel added, the Belgians would just as soon stay home. "Pompidou is bluffing," said a Dutch Foreign Ministry official. "All right, let's cancel it for the time being." The West Germans, facing the possibility of a general election this fall, are no longer keen about having the summit at the same time. The British, who were initially enthusiastic about the conference, have been disenchanted by Pompidou's maneuvers. Though French officials now say that their President's threat was not meant to be taken literally, the other nine remain unimpressed.

Pompidou might have provoked greater concern were his motives not so transparent, reports TIME'S William Rademaekers from Paris. Pompidou is trying to carve out a new and dramatic role for himself and his country within the expanded European community. As he sees it, France should assume its "proper place" as the political nerve center of the Common Market; London will become the financial center; Brussels is to remain the capital for "bread and butter" EEC problems like agriculture and tariffs; and West Germany will continue to be the Community's industrial heartland, with some vague status as commercial gateway to Eastern Europe. The other six nations will play "important roles" that are yet to be defined.

A key feature in this scheme is that Pompidou would preside over the political affairs of Western Europe like a benevolent Gaullist godfather, holding the Community's lesser leaders firmly in line. Though French diplomats have explained the Pompidou plan with extraordinary reserve and caution, other European countries have been less reserved in rejecting it. "The French have always thought we should go to hell," said a Dutch official in The Hague, "and this is typical of their reasoning." Snapped a German diplomat: "It is absolutely absurd to think that one nation in the Community should be assigned to make shoe soles while the other makes politics."

Undaunted, the French have been pushing Phase I of their grand design, the establishment in Paris of a Common Market secretariat to deal with Western Europe's political future. The decision was to be sealed at the summit. Now, faced with such widespread opposition, the French may well decide to postpone the summit until early 1973, hoping thereby to gain time and more favor with the British and the Germans.

Sour Share. Yet Pompidou would do so only at considerable domestic risk; things have not been going well for him lately. Members of his government have been linked to scandals involving taxes, insurance and real estate. His planned triumphant referendum on enlarging the Common Market flopped badly in April, when only 36% of the voters bothered to vote yes. Last week he was enduring a storm of protest for pardoning a former French fascist who had been convicted of murdering Resistance leaders during World War II (see following story). Pompidou can ill afford another setback, especially with French elections scheduled by next March. The idea of a summit conference was Pompidou's in the first place. If things go sour, he will have to share the blame.

Lost in all the bickering, unfortunately, are a number of pressing issues that require prompt and united European action. The Community desperately needs a coordinated position on monetary and economic policy, as well as a political consensus on the impending European security conference and the quickly shifting relationship between East and West.

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