The Gaullist Phenomenon : The Gaullist Movement in the Fifth Republic

Books on gaullism – or, more precisely, books on General de Gaulle – are not uncommon. Originally published in English in 1971, this claimed to be the first book of this sort on gaullism as a political force within the French political system. Since the publication of his work on the __Union pour la nouvelle République__ Jean Charlot had become known as one of the few objective experts on gaullism. His knowledge of the British political system had helped him to appreciate the nature of the gaullist party which he saw from the first, not as a transient party linked to the political career of General de Gaulle, but as a major, modern, right-wing party, comparable to the Conservative Party in Britain. In this book he demonstrates how the gaullist movement is a ‘voter-oriented’ party, the first that France had really ever known. The strength of gaullism lies in the electorate, which had fully accepted gaullist economic policies, the institutional changes introduced under the Republic, and the party’s foreign policy. This voter-oriented party had fundamentally changed the French party system. A majority party since 1962, the gaullist movement would force the left to regroup within a left-wing, voter-oriented party, if it did not want to face political sterility. Jean Charlot was one of the few specialists to publish an article just after the referendum (__Le Monde__, May 2, 1969) forecasting that the departure of General de Gaulle did not foreshadow the end of gaullism as a major political force. Books on gaullism – or, more precisely, books on General de Gaulle – are not uncommon. Originally published in English in 1971, this claimed to be the first book of this sort on gaullism as a political force within the French political system. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Original Title Page 6 Original Copyright Page 7 Dedication 8 Table of Contents 10 List of Tables 12 List of Illustrations 13 Terms and Abbreviations 14 Introduction: A Political Transformation 16 Part One: The Gaullism of the Electorate 22 1. The Strength of Gaullism 24 On Strategy in Politics 24 1958: The Communists 26 1962: The Other Opposition Parties 27 Defeat and its Repercussions 28 Disarray 30 The Tactics and Strategy of the Communist Party 32 The Defferre Affair 35 The Delaying Tactics of the Non-Communist Left 36 The Centre Comes Back to Earth 37 Gaullism Mistaken 39 2. The Attraction of Gaullism 46 Charisma as an Explanation 46 Gaullism - On Balance 55 Gaullism and Stability 58 Gaullism and a Certain Foreign Policy 61 Gaullism and Prosperity 62 3. A Voter-Directed Party - A Dominant Party 66 Definition 66 A Dominant Party 69 The Sociology of the Gaullist Electorate 69 Geographical and Political Distribution of the Gaullist Electorate 78 Conclusion - A Dominant Party of the Right 85 Part Two: The Gaullism of the Gaullist Groups 88 4. The Gaullists 90 The Three Ages of Gaullism 90 1940 90 1947 92 1958 92 The Generations of Gaullists 94 The Gaullists of the First Generation 95 New Blood 96 Loyalty in a Changing Movement 99 5. The Gaullist Organizations 104 The Nature of the Organizations 104 (I) The Gaullist Left-Wing 105 Diverse Currents of Opinion 105 Action From Without or Within? 108 The Contradictions in the Gaullist Left 111 (II) ‘The Minority in the Majority’: La Fédération Nationale Des Républicains Indépendants (F.N.R.I.) 112 The Origins of the Républicains Indépendants 112 The Yes and the But 114 The Nature and Organization of the Républicains Indépendants 117 A Dual Power 119 (III) ‘The Majority of the Majority’: L’Union des Démocrates Pour la République (U.D.R.) 122 The Parliamentary Party 123 Pressure on Policy 123 The Structure of the Parliamentary Party 127 The Party 129 The Party Conference at Lille (November 24-6, 1967) 130 After Lille 132 6. The Distribution of Power 145 The Leader of the Majority 145 The Separation of Powers 147 The President and the Prime Minister 148 The Executive and Legislative Branches 152 A Case-Study: The Higher Education Act (1968) 155 Relations with the U.D.R. 158 The End of Anomalies? 159 Part Three: Presidential Gaullism 164 7. De Gaulle 166 The Man of Stature 166 France and the French 169 The Great Scheme 172 8. Pompidou 180 The Rise to Power 180 The Countryman from the Auvergne 182 The Continuity and Expansion of the Institutions 184 Expansion and Continuity in Politics 187 Brief Chronology 192 Index 202 French politics,General de Gaulle,British political system,French party system,voter-oriented party,Conservative Party,foreign policy,Republic,Fifth Republic