Word: viansson
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...time of farewell to men or places, there was last week an inevitable final twinge of nostalgia and loss. Weary as they are of greatness, the French could not help mourning its passing. No one expressed it better than one of France's most distinguished political writers, Pierre Viansson-Ponté: "Even among his opponents, even among those who campaigned relentlessly for the 'No,' even among those Frenchmen who could no longer stand his self-assurance and his pride, many felt a sudden pang when they thought of him on Sunday night. Thirty years on the stage, sometimes in the glare...
DeGaulle behaves with the same lofty reserve whether at the Opera or the Comedie Francaise, a formal dinner or a private lunch at Colombey, his country estate. Viansson-Ponte also sets down De Gaulle's etiquette as Chief of State (liturgy), his ways of communicating with the public (sermon), and his relations with foreign dignitaries (kinship and rank...
...present health of the Fifth Republic does not guarantee it long life; it depends too heavily on the General's personal prestige, something which he cannot will to his successor. Viansson-Ponte frankly feels that the government will resume its cycle of frequent crises and cabinet shifts when De Gaulle steps down. "Because the regime rests upon one man, it can only be transitory...
...menageric of personalities in the Directory refflects both Viansson-Ponte's sense of humor and the nebulous character of Gaullism itself. Viansson-Ponte deliberately avoids set definitions. To be a Gaullist one must be loyal to the General or to a cause which coincides with the General's ambitions. The hard-core cadres of Gaullism belong to the elite Union pour la Nouvelle Republique (U.N.R.). Millions of women cast their ballots for the General simply because "they are used to him and are afraid of what would happen were he to disappear. But the most devoted Gaullists are the oldtimers...
...King and His Court casts doubt on De Gaulle's infallibility, but it leaves no doubt of his ascendancy over the government and imagination of France. With little profundity--and little desire to be profound--Pierre Viansson-Ponte daubs a diverting portrait of a democratic reign and the motley entourage that supports...