Abstract
In his chapter, Bryan Muller explores the building of new institutions around the main French political leader of the post-Second World War period: General Charles de Gaulle. Having fought for the Resistance, he was a long-time advocate of the reinforcement of executive power, particularly that of the presidency. Capitalising on the favourable context of the Algerian War of Independence, de Gaulle dismantled the dominant parliamentarian political system in favour of a new, clearly presidential regime. Choosing loyal and discreet Prime Ministers, Charles de Gaulle unequivocally showed that he was at the centre of the government and its only source of legitimacy. He prevailed over other parties and in 1962 he secured, by referendum, the election of the President by universal suffrage. His re-election in 1965 was decisive and was to reshape French politics for decades. Conservatives, liberals and left-wing moderates were incapacitated for a while or absorbed by his new party, the UNR. Under the Gaullist model, the Prime Minister and the parliamentary majority were expected to adopt an acquiescent stance towards the President of the Republic.
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Notes
- 1.
Michel Debré (1912–1996) was a great figure of ‘orthodox’ Gaullism. After resisting, he was elected senator for Indre-et-Loire between 1948 and 1958. He was then deputy of La Réunion from 1963 to 1988 and mayor of Ambroise from 1966 to 1989.
- 2.
Gaston Palewsky (1901–1984) was a key Gaullist between 1940 and 1969. He joined the Forces Françaises libres as soon as they were created and then became an important speaker for the RPF, a discreet but key minister under the Fourth Republic, a diplomat appreciated for his linguistic skills and an esteemed senior civil servant under the Fifth Republic.
- 3.
Jacques Soustelle (1912–1990) was a French ethnologist and academician. He was originally a convinced and highly regarded Gaullist under the Fourth Republic, but his attachment to French Algeria eventually led him to oppose General de Gaulle’s Algerian policy and to join the terrorist group OAS.
- 4.
Jacques Foccart (1913–1997) was a key figure of Gaullism under the Fourth, but even more so under the Fifth Republic. He led the RPF after it was put to bed in 1953. Considered to be General de Gaulle’s ‘éminence grise’, he was known for having developed the French neo-colonial policy in Africa.
- 5.
Gaston Defferre (1910–1986) was a socialist resistance fighter and a key figure of French socialism in the Fifth Republic. As deputy-mayor of Marseille, he rose rapidly within the socialist family. He became its candidate for the 1969 presidential election (where he scored very badly) and then François Mitterrand’s right-hand man in the 1970s and 1980s.
- 6.
Jean Lecanuet (1920–1993) was a philosopher and resistance fighter who gained in importance during the Fifth Republic. He led the Christian Democrats and the Centrists in the 1960s and 1970s, while being elected to multiple electoral positions (municipal, legislative, senatorial). Moreover, he was the first to use modern US communications methods in the 1965 presidential election.
- 7.
Olivier Guichard (1920–2004) was a Gaullist close to Jacques Chaban-Delmas. A technician, he was head of General de Gaulle’s cabinet between 1951 and 1958. He took part in many governments in the 1960s and 1970s and headed the Pays de la Loire regional council between 1974 and 1998.
- 8.
Alain Peyrefitte (1925–1999) was an influential Gaullist in the Fifth Republic. He was a deputy for Seine-et-Marne between 1958 and 1995 and a senator for the same area between 1995 and 1999.
- 9.
Maurice Couve de Murville (1907–1997) was an orthodox Gaullist and a technician. Elected several times as a deputy for Paris before becoming a senator, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs and then Minister of Finance under General de Gaulle before heading his last government.
- 10.
René Capitant (1901–1970) was a jurist and a great figure of left-wing Gaullism. He was a member of the Resistance and a fierce opponent of the Algerian War and torture. He was elected several times as a deputy and was the tenant of the Ministry of Justice in 1968–1969. A fierce opponent of Georges Pompidou, whom he considered too conservative, he tried to run in the 1969 presidential election to block him but had to give up his project because of health problems.
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Muller, B. (2024). Charles de Gaulle: The Birth of the Modern French Monarchy, the Fifth Republic. In: Mişcoiu, S., Guigo, PE. (eds) Presidents, Prime Ministers and Majorities in the French Fifth Republic. Palgrave Studies in Presidential Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-44664-1_2
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