France: Ordeal at Home, Uncertainty Abroad

Both internally and internationally, the economic impact of France's upheaval might be of more lasting importance than the political. The Fifth Republic—and, indeed, even De Gaulle —may survive, but no matter what course events take it seems certain that France's economy is in for a long ordeal. The general workers' strike sapped French industry of more than $100 million a day in output—and this at a time when it was already showing signs of stagnation. France's growth rate, which climbed above 7% in the early 1960s, last year ebbed to 3.75%. The De Gaulle government had high hopes of...