FRANCE: The Immobilists

The most effective way for a French Premier to stay in office is to avoid hard decisions and, if possible, even forthright expressions of opinion. Under Henri Queuille, the colorless compromiser, this technique made a name for itself: L’im-mobilisme. Queuille hung on as Premier for 388 days—a record for postwar France. Last week France’s postwar Premier, Joseph Laniel, was hot on Queuille’s trail. By an astute and unflagging practice of immobilisme, plus luck, Laniel passed the second-best (290-day) mark, set by Antoine Pinay, his arch rival in the Independent Party. If Laniel can last another 100 days, he will beat Queuille’s record; but with so much going on in Indo-China, Geneva and France, the last 100 days may be the hardest.