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At Michele's insistence, Duvalier last Monday motored through Port-au- Prince with his wife at the wheel of a white Jeep. Sharpshooters crouched on rooftops along the route. When Baby Doc returned to the palace, he complained, "It was a masquerade. Without all that security, my life would not have been worth a gourde"--Haitian currency worth about 20 cents. Still, he put on a bravado performance. Asked if he intended to hold elections, an unsmiling - Duvalier answered, "I intend to remain President-for-Life as constitutionally guaranteed."
He was secretly preparing for other contingencies. The U.S. embassy in Port- au-Prince had shared its stark assessment with the Haitian leader: without resorting to "repression and violence," his regime could not survive. After meeting with officials from nearby Jamaica, the President-for-Life agreed to depart on Wednesday but quickly had to renege. Reason: the Greek, Spanish and Swiss governments had all rebuffed the Duvalier family's requests for asylum. Two African countries, Gabon and Morocco, also said Duvalier would not be welcome.
As potential sites of refuge dwindled, Jean-Claude moved to break a growing protest by some 150 leading store owners in Port-au-Prince. Roving bands of Tonton Macoutes wrote down the addresses of shuttered businesses and rousted proprietors from their homes. The strong-arm tactic worked. Shop doors swung open gradually, and by Thursday the city had resumed commercial activity.
The final straw for Duvalier may have been his anxiety over the annual pre- Lenten carnival that was to begin this week. For Haitians, the three-day Mardi Gras festival is a time of orgiastic release, when they can momentarily forget their cares. Ordinarily Baby Doc would have joined in the festivities, but a boycott of the carnival called by his opponents was gathering momentum. The President, sniggered residents of Port-au-Prince, would be the laughingstock of a carnival to which no one came. On the other hand, any crowds that did form would be a danger to his regime.
On Thursday at 2 p.m., Duvalier told the American embassy, "I want to go out, and I need help to get out." Within four hours a plan had been approved in Washington. Duvalier was told that he and his entourage should be ready to leave at 2 a.m. Friday. He agreed. Said one of those invited to the Duvaliers' risky coup de champagne in the palace: "They were both in high spirits. It was gay and filled with laughter. No tears." Meanwhile, France had agreed to give Duvalier's entourage temporary entry, while making it clear that permanent exile in the country was out of the question. When the couple finally boarded the C-141, they carried only one suitcase apiece. Nine hours earlier, an Air Haiti cargo plane loaded with the family's wealth, including Michele's priceless wardrobe and jewelry collection, had left the country.
By the time the Air Force plane touched down at Grenoble, the popular French ski resort was swarming with security forces and journalists. The Haitian entourage went to an 11th century Benedictine monastery that has been converted into a hotel. While they rested and sampled the hostelry's luxurious cuisine, the French government was reportedly trying to persuade several so far reluctant African countries to offer Duvalier sanctuary. For Baby Doc the good life continued--at least for the time being.