FRANCE: Fourth Republic

There was muttering in the corridors. But General Charles de Gaulle’s Cabinet unanimously accepted his plan for achieving a Fourth Republic. The plan: the French electorate, men & women, would go to the polls next October and decide whether they wish to retain France’s old constitution of 1875 or have a new one. At the same time they would elect a unicameral assembly of 600 representatives.

If they plumped for the old constitution (which no one expects), the assembly would become the new Chamber of Deputies, and the Senate would be chosen, as before, by deputies and regional councillors. If the people voted for a new constitution, the delegates would sit for seven months as a constituent assembly, i.e., a constitution-drafting body. De Gaulle and his Cabinet would continue to run France, “consulting” the assembly only on such matters as budgets and treaties.

This interim retention of power by the Provisional Government caused cries of: To the lamppost! De Gaulle tried to quiet them by announcing that his retention of power would also be submitted for the voters’ approval in October.

But the Consultative Assembly was far from satisfied. Its committee on government reform last week “rejected” the De Gaulle plan. Behind the committee’s administrative objections was a simple political fear—that voters would be asked not so much to vote for or against the governmental changes as for or against Charles de Gaulle, and that under such conditions he would undoubtedly win.

There was little doubt that the General saw himself, a year hence, as the duly elected President of the Fourth Republic, and that he expected the new presidency to be invested with a good deal more power than it has had in the past.