White Knight in a Graveyard

The French left did well--but not overwhelmingly so. Indeed, it might galvanize the divided conservatives to fight back. At the same time, the electorate showed a growing acceptance of the Communists. That is the probable upshot of the French municipal elections.

The results brought personal satisfaction to Jacques Chirac, former Premier and head of the newly formed Assembly for the Republic. At a preelection rally in Paris' cavernous Palais des Sports, 5,000 Chirac supporters cheered wildly as the Gaullist mayoralty candidate reiterated his two campaign pledges: "Only we can govern Paris! Only we can build a dike to contain the Socialist-Communist tide!" In the first of two rounds of nationwide municipal elections last week, Chirac won enough support virtually to assure his election as mayor. But outside the capital, he barely managed to keep his finger in the dike. Socialists and Communists, running on a combined ticket, in many areas routed candidates jointly put up by Chirac and President Valery Giscard d'Estaing. Although their total vote was slightly below the 53% they registered in last year's cantonal elections, the leftists gained control of municipal councils in 32 cities of more than 30,000 inhabitants. In the second round of voting, the left bloc stood to pick up at least a dozen other major cities, and its leaders are already claiming that their parties constitute a majority in France. Exulted Communist Party Chief Georges Marchais: "The results reflect the deep dissatisfaction in the country stemming from the disastrous social and economic policies of the government of Giscard."

Popular Dissatisfaction. Marchais was at least half right. The left vote certainly reflected popular dissatisfaction with the inability of the Giscard government to contain inflation and unemployment. It did not necessarily mean that French voters were ready to endorse the "common program" of the Socialists and Communists, which calls for widespread nationalization.

Still, fear of Communism among the bourgeoisie has been reduced by the new image presented by the Communists, who are down-playing their connection with Moscow, talking instead of a patriotic "socialism in French colors."

The election results presage troublesome times for the President, whose ability to govern rests on a coalition of center-right parties in the National Assembly. Although his term still has four years to go, he faces parliamentary elections in the spring of 1978. If the left bloc wins a majority of the seats, the Communists will almost certainly be brought into the national government for the first time since 1947.

Some observers believe that the left wave may even have crested, and will now subside. But the poor showing by the Giscard-Chirac candidates in France's angry provinces was a clear warning to the centrist parties that they must revise their strategies to stem further leftist inroads. The government will have to devise more effective means of dealing with rising unemployment than Giscard's gradualist economic reforms.

Particularly galling to Giscard was the Parisian victory of his ex-ally and former Premier, who had dramatically quit the government last year. Winning over Giscard's hand-picked candidate, Michel d'Ornano, Chirac--barring an unexpected upset--will now hold sway in the Hotel de Ville as Paris' first elected mayor in a century; the office was re-introduced as a result of a change in statutes engineered by Giscard 15 months ago. Previously, Paris was run by government-appointed officials. The mayor's new powers will include administering a $ 1.4 billion yearly budget.

Drained Votes. Now Giscard's most serious potential rival on the right, Chirac had accused the President of a "soft" attitude toward the left. A bold tactician, Chirac set out to revitalize a Gaullist party that had fallen into disarray and to woo workers from the left. In Paris, Chirac was helped by lackluster opposition candidates for the mayoralty and by a strong showing of candidates running on an ecology platform, who drained votes from the left. In the provinces, however, many of his close political allies were defeated. "Chirac stands like a white knight in Paris," observed one of Giscard's ministers last week, "but the land around him is a graveyard marked with crosses over his friends' graves."

Still, the position of mayor of Paris will carry enormous prestige. Chirac's victory and the leftist surge are expected to toughen Giscard's style. "He will have to be more like De Gaulle, more authoritative," said one of his ministers. "Now that the election has identified the opponent on the left, Giscard will have to commit himself to the fight." To meet the leftist threat, Giscard will probably have to join forces with Chirac--though it remains to be seen just how much unity they will be able to achieve.

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