De Gaulle's France Today-Two Articles
HERALD, RAY ALAN/GEORGE W.
De Gaulle's France Today — Two Articles Ferment in Algeria By Ray Alan Paris All autocrats are lonely. But none can be mote lonely than General Charles de Gaulle as the hopes raised by his...
...An official communique will be issued only when the two parties have definitely achieved something or finally broken down...
...At the end of last month, General de Gaulle invited a number of prominent Socialists, Radicals, Catholics and Independents to come and see him in the Elysée...
...It also enjoys the active or passive support of the majority of French officers and regular Army non-coms in Algeria...
...In the Arab camp, the new FLN leadership has clearly promised that all Europeans will be allowed to live and work in the independent Algeria of the future, whether they opt for French or Algerian nationality, provided they renounce all pretensions of constituting a privileged minority...
...In contrast, Gaston Defferre, the Socialist Mayor of Marseilles, charged on October 5 in the liberal weekly Express that Debré was still "consciously or unconsciously an accomplice of those who sabotage de Gaulle's peace policy in Algeria...
...Terrorism has reached a new crescendo both in Algeria and here in France...
...Indeed, some French officials, like their British counterparts in 1947-48, believe that this might be the healthiest solution: "Natural" partition-lines would be established...
...The OAS says that its aim is to prevent any total "sell-out" and to render permanent any military-administrative regrouping...
...Concede a point with aristocratic disdain, and then, with equal aristocratic disdain, squander the moral advantage earned...
...Ben Khedda is a Marxist trade-union organizer, deeply interested in the evolution of Communist China, though attracted more to Yugoslavia's variety of Socialism than to Soviet and Chinese totalitarianism...
...Some ministers and senior officials are even discreetly dropping lifelines in the direction from which they think rescuers most likely to appear...
...Peace in Algeria...
...Raise the hopes of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN), then slap them down on a procedural matter...
...The Palestine parallel breaks down, of course, when one recalls that the British Army was never committed, emotionally or politically, to the support of either Arabs or Jews...
...But he has grown extraordinarily unpopular among his peers...
...If necessary, it will set up a French-Algerian republic, confident that, in the short run at least, the "settlerstates" of South Africa and Southern Rhodesia, and possibly Portugal and Spain, would afford assistance...
...The world is so full Of a number of riots, Each rock through a window, Each bomb, so disquiets, That in times of such turbulence Many are tearful, But, happily, makers Of tear gas are cheerful...
...By coddling his worst enemies for over two years, he has himself created the OAS monster that is now out to destroy him...
...It systematically prepares for a partition and tells responsible military men that their main task is to hold a certain number of strategic points in Algeria...
...And his views on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the United Nations and Berlin are, to say the least, controversial even among such fervent admirers as elder statesman Paul Reynaud and Nobel prizewinner François Mauriac...
...All this is contrary to de Gaulle's own concepts...
...He offered them a sort of political truce until the OAS was crushed and the Algerian conflict terminated...
...De Gaulle is neither eternal nor infallible...
...When that struggle comes, France's political parties are expected to forget their misgivings about the General in order to insure his victory...
...If it were persuaded to interpret a Gaullist disengagement from Algeria as a "moral DienBien-Phu" (the phrase is already being tried out), the Fifth Republic might soon find itself in the same ash can as the Fourth...
...On the face of it Debré, backed by a block of 200 Gaullist Deputies from the Union for the New Republic (UNR), ought to be able to defeat such an onslaught...
...The only union that remains possible is one between the General and the parties...
...The politicians listened to him politely, but in the days that followed one party congress after the other denounced his regime for being too "technocratic,' too soft toward the ultras, too contemptuous of Parliament, or all these things at once...
...Three major forces face each other in France today: de Gaulle, the OAS and the old parties...
...But none can be mote lonely than General Charles de Gaulle as the hopes raised by his return to power three years ago turn to bitter ashes...
...The emergence of the OAS as the dominant force within the European community has made it more likely that de Gaulle, finding it impossible to persuade the ultras to accept a settlement with the FLN, may one day decide to "disengage," as he himself has put it—in other words, to withdraw in a huff, like the British from Palestine, leaving the two obstreperous communities to sort things out for themselves...
...Richard Armour...
...Under the plan, the executive will be given control of an armed mobile gendarmerie...
...Once it makes an agreement it will undoubtedly insure that everyone on its side of the Algerian fence respects it...
...The European ultras in Algeria are also in a tougher mood...
...As long as his executive organs play their own game, he won't be able to make much headway...
...On October 8, they note, de Gaulle had a long talk with General Pierre Billotte and René Capitant, the promoters of what is called the "Gaullist Left...
...The more French republics change Since his return to power, General de Gaulle has given the impression of indulging in what Baudelaire called "the aristocratic pleasure of displeasing...
...Was CBS reporter David Schoenbrun correct when he predicted before an Overseas Press Club audience that the gravest crisis for the West was looming not in Berlin but in France...
...ITS AN ILL WIND World's Turbulence Aids One industry: Makers of Tear Gas.—Headline...
...and the two communities could be brought by outside pressure into, first, an economic union and, ultimately, some kind of federal state...
...If the hot-heads can be kept in check, there are ample men of good will on both sides to make agreement possible...
...It still suffers from occasional twinges of the complexes bequeathed by the 1940 defeat and Dien-Bien-Phu...
...The initiative is a bold one...
...During the talks, incidentally, France's Minister for Algerian affairs, Louis Joxe, was forbidden by de Gaulle to offer a concession on the Sahara—of crucial importance to the Algerians—which the General himself made, airily and gratuitously, at a press conference a few days later...
...The French regular Army, on the other hand, while despising many of the richer, more selfish colons, has established close links with the European community of Algeria...
...Moslem and European would acquire, however painfully, a degree of mutual respect which they do not at present possess and without which coexistence is impossible...
...On October 2, French televiewers were treated to the spectacle of an angry old man scolding the politicians for trying to resume the "sordid games and intrigues" of the Fourth Republic...
...But he also has committed errors of judgment that carry the names of Guinea, Sahara, Bizerte and Salan...
...On the credit side, too, is the resuscitation of the moderate political parties of the Center and nonCommunist Left...
...An unnamed spokesman of the Catholic Popular Republican Movement (MRP) was more specific in the Left-wing paper Observateur: "Premier Debré's entourage is convinced that new negotiations with the FLN rebels are bound to fail...
...He was finally discredited by the failure of the Evian and Lugrin talks...
...The Independents said they would welcome new elections...
...Since he is now in his 71st year and exposed to many perils, they see no serious reason why he should object to their desire to save the Republic if and when he disappears...
...Even in Algeria, thousands of Europeans whom fear and despair have driven to support the OAS are war-weary and reconciled to the loss of their past privileges...
...It associated itself with the uprising of May 1958 in Algiers because it suspected the politicians of the Fourth Republic of preparing a "diplomatic DienBien-Phu...
...If anyone made trouble, he would again apply Article 16 of the Constitution, "this time to its fullest extent...
...The OAS undoubtedly comprises certain military units but by no means the whole Army...
...In French politics, as in a Laurence Durrell novel, things are never quite what they seem to be and people often say the opposite of what they think...
...The Radicals and Catholics reiterated that proper checks and balances would have to be restored during de Gaulle's tenure of office if the Republic was to survive him...
...He has saved the country from civil war—so far...
...All this sudden agitation displeased de Gaulle no end...
...And de Gaulle won't spurn their help, for he will need all the friends he can muster...
...He has been right on Algeria and Africa and has put French finances in better shape than they have been for 40 years...
...In these circumstances it is doubtful whether a mere paper agreement between the French government and the FLN will suffice to resolve the problem...
...Therefore, they reason, he will either "sell out" to the FLN on terms satisfactory to his personal pride or, failing agreement with the rebels, "disengage" from mainly Moslem areas and concentrate a reduced army and administration in the coastal strip pending a final settlement...
...French opinion, recovering fast from the chauvinistic fever of 1958, is thoroughly sick of the Algerian war...
...He told visitors that, if there were new elections, he would go and campaign himself this time, and pick up 80 per cent of the vote...
...The country's best political brains—Mendès-France, Edgar Faure, Gaston Defferre, Guy Mollet, Pierre Pflimlin and others—have remained outside the regime...
...Some British officers were pro-Arab, others were pro-Zionist...
...If they persisted, de Gaulle warned, he might dissolve the National Assembly and call for new elections...
...The OAS, whose nominal head is the outlawed General Raoul Salan, has by persuasion and terror established its domination over the bulk of the European community there...
...But this country cannot be governed as if it were a 19th century principality...
...Meanwhile, with the regular Army's complicity, the OAS is storing arms and explosives and has prepared a call-up mechanism for mobilizing all European males of military age...
...All sides agree that a violent showdown between de Gaulle and the OAS will be unavoidable before Algeria can accede to its independence...
...Three years ago it probably seemed to him the best way of tackling France's major problems: Make use of the Right, offer its leaders jobs to keep them quiet, but trample on its dogmas...
...George W. Herald is a veteran foreign correspondent based in Paris...
...Abbas' desire for a negotiated settlement of the Algerian problem that would have granted the French substantial privileges in return for economic aid, made him suspect in the eyes of his own guerrilla commanders...
...De Gaulle's critics in the Assembly may have a point in complaining that his political paternalism discourages the average citizen from taking any interest in politics and thereby imperils France's democratic future...
...This is a splinter group of the UNR, but it may be called upon to play an important role in the next few months as a bridge between the General and all sincere republicans...
...The Rightists accuse him of having betrayed the cause of Algérie française...
...Moreover, while it is true that the FLN leadership is now somewhat tougher than in the days of Ferhat Abbas, it is also more tightly knit, more decisive, more practical, and less afraid of being disavowed by its guerrilla commanders...
...These are services even his opponents don't try to minimize...
...Ben Khedda's Foreign Minister, Sa'ad Dahlab, is a competent clear-minded negotiator, and the French have discovered that he is not difficult to get along with...
...And the Socialists stuck to their plan to introduce a motion of censure against the Debré government in Parliament "at an opportune moment...
...Ray Alan is a British correspondent who has reported on Europe, Africa and the Middle East for many years...
...Under his leadership, the FLN will be more stubborn and, if necessary, more ruthless than hitherto, and will command greater respect in Tunis, Rabat, Belgrade and, no doubt, Peking...
...That is why Paris observers feel that the General can have no interest in antagonizing France's political elite...
...Events, these people say, are going to take care of that...
...Smile occasionally at the Left, but ride roughshod over its sentiments...
...The Right-wing activists believe that de Gaulle, interested chiefly in European power politics and hopeful one day of arbitrating an East-West settlement, considers Algeria a liability and wishes to be rid of it...
...His entourage contains many able executives but, apart from André Malraux, few creative thinkers...
...The limited but by no means negligible influence of the moderate parties (and for all his professed scorn for political parties, de Gaulle is too wary a politician to ignore the moderates) is bound to be on.the side of peace and against all extremists, military and civilian...
...Socialist leader Guy Mollet also met privately with former Premier Pierre Mendès-France for the first time in five years to lay the groundwork for a "democratic cartel" that could maintain republican legality in case the General became incapacitated...
...The parties are bargaining and maneuvering for places in the coalition which they expect to succeed de Gaulle...
...At the same time, de Gaulle is preparing to reopen secret talks with the FLN, and the indications are that no interim statement is to be made on the subject...
...Municipal employes are busy each morning in every major city painting out anti-Government slogans and removing the flags of the extremist Organisation Armée Secrète (OAS)—one such flag was flying a few hours ago from the south tower of Notre Dame...
...Despite all the shadow fighting that is going on at present, many here believe that in the end such an alliance will be formed...
...The prince who governs France (to recall Premier Michel Debré's mocking phrase— now its echo mocks him) is indeed princely, but the problems and the displeasure remain...
...While the OAS has gained no real foothold in France, except perhaps in a few areas around Bordeaux and Lyon, it is steadily growing stronger in Algeria...
...Neither de Gaulle nor the parties can envisage an alliance with the OAS...
...They would be much less critical of de Gaulle if he listened more carefully to what they have to say...
...For the moment, however, all this is pure speculation...
...Since his recent trip through the Lozere Department, the General is more convinced than ever that he has the masses behind him...
...The open threat of total dictatorship failed to silence the General's critics...
...Backed by the bulk of the territory's 900,000 Europeans, it is virtually replacing the French Administration in many regions...
...Unless de Gaulle and Ben Khedda reach agreement very speedily—and are prepared to take joint action to defend their agreement—a "Palestinian" situation could develop in Algeria in the next few months...
...it may, in fact, prove too bold for the French military commanders on the spot...
...Unless de Gaulle changes his mind and appoints a successor, the Assembly's dissolution would then be automatic...
...But as long as he is around and as long as the Algerian problem is not settled, neither Mendès-France nor any other revenant of the Fourth Republic can seriously aspire to take his place...
...HAPPILY, there are silver linings in this cloudy scene...
...Ferhat Abbas is a liberal petty bourgeois, culturally and politically a Westerner...
...but the majority were glad to wash their hands of the whole affair and approved their Government's decision to withdraw...
...Many would emigrate to France tomorrow if the Government would only announce a clear plan for compensating, housing and employing them...
...As for political stability, the press is again publishing articles on la dégradation du pouvoir and le vide politique...
...The French press has discovered, too late, the virtues and qualities—particularly the moderation—of Ferhat Abbas, displaced late this summer by Benyoussef Ben Khedda as head of the "Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic...
...Politics in the Elysee By George W Herald Paris Are the French once again on the verge of civil war...
...National unity...
...Under these conditions, some observers believe that quite a few MRP and moderate Deputies may vote for a censure motion against Debré or, by abstaining, insure his defeat...
...General de Gaulle has given instructions for the establishment of a provisional Algerian executive which, he insists, must be conceived not—as hitherto—as a French-controlled, Béni-Oui-Oui yes-man group, but as a real means of allowing the FLN to establish a foothold within the administration and make contact with Algerian realities its leaders are apt to overlook in their offices in Tunis...
...Military and Right-wing civilian sentiment in France would be in its favor, the OAS feels, and would press the government of the day in Paris to go to the aid of the ultras if ever they were subjected to all-out Arab attack...
Vol. 44 • October 1961 • No. 35
