France in Trouble
BOSWELL, GEORGE B.
Felix Gail lard's new cabinet is only a stop-gap, because the country's political climate and the composition of the Assembly prevent effective government France in Trouble By George B....
...This may lead them to take a more intransigent position in future governmental crises, in order to block proper functioning of the democratic system and force the French people to turn to a strong man...
...of the Right...
...Mollet managed to remain in power by carefully balancing his program...
...By the beginning of 1957, Mollet was under heavy attack from the left for his conduct of the war...
...The first government under this Assembly was formed in February 1956 by Socialist leader Guy Mollet...
...His projected cabinet included the Catholic MRP—the first time it had allied itself with the Socialists since they split over the 1951 Barange law granting state support to Church schools...
...For their ingeniously constructed stop-gap governments have neither the stability nor the executive strength to solve France's pressing colonial and domestic issues and give her proper representation in the councils of the world...
...For one thing, the Hungarian Revolution had eliminated any possibility of a Popular Front, thus immeasurably strengthening the Independents' bargaining position...
...In the first, limited to four months, he would tackle the immediate financial and economic crisis, in order to re-establish France's credit and halt inflation...
...In order to prevent a Popular Front, which then seemed possible, the Independents and Center parties assured Mollet enough support so that he would not need the 150 Communist votes to stay in power...
...Meanwhile, Mollet would be able to reassert his control over his party and head a new government in the fall, once the storm over Algerian atrocities had blown over...
...Furthermore, Mollet had laid out his program in two stages...
...The Popular Front threat subsided during 1956, as the Mollet Government applied nationalistic policies in Algeria and the Middle East, which pleased the right-wingers and embittered the Communists...
...Before these took effect, however, the Assembly would have an opportunity to pass on Mollet's program of social legislation, which was planned for the second stage...
...He would also propose certain Constitutional changes designed to strengthen the executive branch and give future governments greater stability...
...There is even the possibility of sudden new elections in 1958—three years ahead of schedule...
...In fact, no forceful cabinet can long endure so long as these two parties, diametrically opposed, retain the power of overthrowing any government...
...But Mollet was still able to obtain the conservatives' abstention on crucial votes, even though he could no longer wield the threat of seeking Communist backing...
...In a sense, the Mollet-Lacoste policy toward Algeria backfired politically...
...Felix Gail lard's new cabinet is only a stop-gap, because the country's political climate and the composition of the Assembly prevent effective government France in Trouble By George B. Boswell Paris The recent 36-day cabinet crisis in France threatened that country's financial and economic structure, its ties to its overseas possessions, its international standing, and even its democratic institutions...
...A third element has also contributed to the present impasse: The political deadlock is so serious that two governments may well be overthrown by a constitutional majority within a period of 18 months, which would cause the dissolution of the Assembly and new elections...
...The first part of the plan worked out as envisaged, and on October 22 Mollet was called on to form a government to replace Bourges-Maunoury's...
...Hence, the Socialists and Independents are increasingly reluctant to make the concessions required to govern the country...
...The Bourges-Maunourv Government that succeeded Mollet after a 20-day crisis was regarded as an interim regime created to push through the Common Market and En ratom treaties and govern France during the summer recess...
...Though a minority government whose component parties could muster only 200 votes in the Assembly, it held power by its ability to command the support—or at least abstention—of the non-participating democratic parties...
...Not only did the Independents oppose Mollet, but he failed to get even half the votes of the small Center parties represented in his putative government...
...If this cabinet had obtained the support of all the deputies whose parties it included, it would have come within several votes of a clear majority without outside support...
...the result is that the Center and rightist forces no longer feel they must depend on the Socialists to insure popular support of a strong policy in Algeria...
...It was due to a change in the political climate since the election of the present Assembly...
...To protect his control of the party, Mollet was forced to push even harder for his fiscal and social policies, thus bringing his eventual downfall at the hand...
...While the extreme Right may well be playing for a coup d'etat, the other parties have been playing politics in the midst of a grave situation...
...He also maintained the continued support of the MRP and most Independents by his support of the European-unity treaties...
...The impasse can be broken only by a major change in the political climate that forces one or several parties to make major concessions, or by new elections...
...Since the Socialists and Independents each command about 100 votes, any government controlled by either is at the mercy of the other...
...In return, Mollet obtained their abstention on social and fiscal programs generally endorsed by the Left and on a vital "framework law" granting local self-government to the French Central African dependencies...
...It strengthened the determination of the French people to retain its ties with Algeria and preserve the European community there...
...The Front had originally campaigned on a platform of "Peace in Algeria," a slogan endorsed by the Communist party...
...Out of weariness and the gravity of the crisis, the two parties finally agreed to call on the economic technician Gaillard to try to solve the country's urgent fiscal problems...
...They defied Mollet twice on fiscal issues related to the war and overthrew Bourges-Maunoury over a bill granting Algeria limited self-government...
...The Independents were delighted to have a Socialist apply the harsh policies in Algeria which they fully endorsed but would never have been able to enact themselves...
...The Hungarian Revolution finally put an end to all Popular Front speculation...
...Pierre Mendes-France's attempt to reorganize and liberalize the Radical party, and his vigorous criticism of Resident Minister Robert Lacoste's policies in Algeria, broke the Radicals into three wings, with the right wing drifting toward the conservative parties and the Mendesians opposing the Government from the left...
...It does not end the threat which stems from the composition of the present National Assembly and the changes in the climate of French opinion over the last nine months...
...The smaller parties of the Front drifted to the right, so that by the time Mollet fell last spring he had lost more than half his original support...
...It also contained enough Center representation to reassure some Independent deputies...
...The rightists and Gaullists feel that the only solution is rule by General de Gaulle or another Army leader...
...He had also won the faithful support of the Catholic MRP, anxious to achieve a rapprochement with the Socialists...
...In spite of all this, Mollet's attempt to form a government failed even more dismally than that of Independent ex-Premier Antoine Pinay, who had tried a week earlier...
...It was based on the limited electoral victory of the Republican Front, an improvised combination of Radicals and Socialists...
...They may thus be endangering the very existence of democratic institutions in France...
...The government of national union finally formed by young Radical Felix Gaillard is a patchwork compromise which includes most of the democratic parties from the Socialists to the conservative Independents...
...Mollet's list of ministers also included various Radical factions, as well as the smaller Center parties included in his last government...
...Hence, the Independents have shifted their emphasis to the fiscal and budgetary problems of conducting the war and to ultimate political solutions...
...This fact is probably driving most of the parties to adopt stronger doctrinal positions in order to protect themselves in the event of a sudden election...
...Gaillard will have to be more than a fiscal wizard if his cabinet is to last much longer than its predecessor (four months...
...The crucial fact is that it is impossible to constitute any workable majority government in the present Assembly...
...The Socialists and Independents are in complete disagreement on every major issue facing France today: how to bring about a peaceful solution in Algeria, long-range policies to solve the country's disastrous financial plight, social and economic legislation to satisfy labor demands and overcome social unrest, basic Constitutional changes to redefine the relationship between France and her overseas possessions...
...For another, the Algerian crisis had, for the first time since January 1956, ceased temporarily to dominate the whole French political scene...
...However, this balancing act could not last forever...
...This setback under seemingly favorable conditions contrasted strongly with Mollet's ability to hold together a minority government in 1956 under trying circumstances...
...Stories of atrocities committed against Algerian rebel prisoners by the French Army set off a storm of protest...
...Out of roughly 600 members of the Assembly, some 200, representing Communists and Poujadists, are in perpetual opposition...
...The Republican Front soon crumbled under the pressure of crucial issues like Algeria...
...The Independents were also increasingly critical of his deficit financing, high taxes on business, and costly social legislation...
...The confidence they have in the prospects of the Gaillard Cabinet is best indicated by the fact that neither party's leader, neither Mollet nor Pinay, would risk his own reputation by joining it...
...Outspoken criticism of Lacoste's rule in Algeria came not only from Mendes-France's followers and left-wing Catholics, but from the left wing of the Socialist party itself...
Vol. 40 • November 1957 • No. 46
