France: The Permanent Opposition

France’s first direct presidential election in the 20th century was over, and Charles de Gaulle, with 55% of the vote, had won. Or had he? Le grand Charles had sought overwhelming confirmation of his policies; instead, he had unwittingly created his first permanent and meaningful opposition.

The opposition’s new leaders had no intention of losing the spotlight De Gaulle had given them. “We are faced with a dying regime,” declared Socialist Loser Francois Mitterrand. “When we see how shaky Gaullism is with De Gaulle, what will it be without De Gaulle?” He mapped a campaign to organize a grass-roots party structure in every important town in France for his Fédération Démocrate et Socialiste-but excluding the Communists who backed him for President. Catholic Center Candidate Jean Lecanuet, 45, whose Kennedy-style campaign made him a national figure in a matter of weeks, was putting together his new Centre Démocrate Party, frankly aimed at wooing moderates and pro-Europeans out of the Gaullist camp.

The threat was all too clear to Gaullist Deputies. De Gaulle himself might be secure for another seven years, but Mitterrand and Lecanuet were taking dead aim at his parliamentary supporters due to test their strength in parliamentary elections that must be held before March 1967. De Gaulle’s men got the message. Rebelling against a government measure to tighten taxes on small businessmen, whose votes they will need, Gaullist Deputies forced Premier Georges Pompidou to put off the bill until a safe 1968. “When I leave here, I have a rendezvous with General de Gaulle,” huffed Pompidou. “I will bring him your unanimous greetings.”