Word: frenchmen
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...French voters; it radically reshaped France's administration and gave the President vast new powers. He was elected President in the expectation that only he could find a peaceful solution in Algeria. He did, but in a way that outraged French settlers in Algeria and many Frenchmen at home: he offered freedom to the Algerians...
Before Charles de Gaulle vowed to resign "without delay" if Frenchmen reject his proposals in the April 27 national referendum, the polls showed an apathetic and uncertain electorate: 52% undecided or determined to abstain and the rest almost evenly divided. Last week the first poll taken after the general's ultimatum turned up results that would dismay a lesser man. A full 40% of the voters had not yet made up their minds, and the rest were still divided. Only 52% intended to vote oui for De Gaulle's program-and therefore for De Gaulle himself...
...most fascinating question has been raised by De Gaulle's threat of apres moi le deluge-since for once there is no deluge in sight. Instead, Frenchmen have a visible alternative to De Gaulle in ex-Premier Georges Pompidou. He loyally rejects the proposition that a no vote on the referendum is a yes for himself, and last week was out campaigning vigorously for De Gaulle's program. Nonetheless, his presence on the hustings could only allay any fear of post-De Gaulle chaos and give voters a choice in deciding whether the general had perhaps cried wolf...
...Frenchmen voted the same way they talked, the impression is that Briare will reject the referendum's proposals. I found only two people, the mayor and an insurance man, who said they would vote yes. Everyone else-workers, farmers, shopkeepers and professional men-said they would either vote no or cast a blank ballot. But Frenchmen have a way of confounding opinion seekers. Pierre Renaud, Briare's pharmacist-tobacconist, perhaps expressed it best. "The French are a funny people. They always complain a lot but usually vote oui." In France, it is the mind that does the talking...
...French voters actually want to get rid of le grand Charles, they now have the perfect opportunity. Former Premier Georges Pompidou has announced that he would be a willing replacement if De Gaulle quit-and in last year's May-June crisis of rioting and strikes, Pompidou provided Frenchmen with an impressive demonstration under fire that he can do the job. There are indeed some indications that the French are tiring of De Gaulle. In the eleventh year of his Fifth Republic, a new slogan is being scrawled on walls and sidewalks in Paris: "Dix ans, ça suffit...