Word: frenchmen
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...stop Mitterrand. The flashy, thrice-wed former Resistance hero not only got the endorsement of the old-line Gaullists, but he ceaselessly flaunted it at rallies of the faithful around the country. Yet Chaban's carefully cultivated image of continuity with the past was plainly unappealing to many Frenchmen, who seem to want a change from the elitist tradition of De Gaulle. Although Chaban started out with a slight lead over Giscard in the polls, he was 14 points behind going into this week's election...
Image, in fact, is Chaban's greatest liability and probably the main reason why, despite the endorsement of the Gaullist Party, he trailed Giscard last week. Throughout his 29-year political career, Chaban has striven to appear youthful, athletic and energetic-and succeeded all too well. Many Frenchmen regard Chaban, who was a national tennis finalist in 1965, as a "playboy," not sérieux enough to be President. Married three times, in a Catholic country where divorce is still a political handicap, he has become saddled with the nicknames "Beau Jacques"and "Charmant Delmas." Moreover, he still...
Serious Challenge. The specter of a leftist government has already spurred some wealthy Frenchmen to move their money abroad. For example, one top attorney admits that he drives regularly into Switzerland to deposit his own and his clients' funds in secret bank accounts there. Mitterrand nonetheless may be succeeding in his tranquilizing campaign. The right-wing Paris journal Minute warned last week: "Mitterrand has already won a great battle: he no longer frightens...
Fringe Candidates. Mitterrand's chances of ultimate victory are far from certain. Because the Socialists and Communists constitute less than half of the French electorate, he cannot win on the second ballot unless he gains the support of a large number of Frenchmen who have traditionally feared what might happen if Communists came to power. Mitterrand has tried to allay these fears by portraying himself as a responsible statesman and has stressed his commitment to civil liberties. But at a press conference last week, Mitterrand conceded that if elected, he would appoint Communists to Cabinet posts in his government...
...NATO than even that of the Gaullists. The victory of a candidate representing a path between Gaullism and the left, as Faure or Giscard might, would mean French support for greater integration of the European Economic Community and closer relations with the U.S. Not until Frenchmen cast their ballots, however, can the question posed last week by Le Monde be answered: "Is this the second death of Gaullism...