An Aye for an Ally

As France wrangled its way closer to the date of the referendum on its new constitution, Premier Charles de Gaulle got a ringing endorsement from an old comrade in arms. Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, 70, standing down as NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander in Europe after half a century of soldiering, told a farewell Paris press conference: "Quite frankly, I am a Gaullist. General de Gaulle stands for France more than any other person in decades. He is a good guy--and he is going to put this country right. If anybody disagrees, I'll wager -L-100 on it."

De Gaulle himself, getting on with his nation's business, welcomed West Germany's Chancellor Konrad Adenauer to his home in Colombey-les-deux-Eglises. It was the first meeting for the two, and they talked for six hours. "Close cooperation of the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic," they declared, "is the basis of all constructive work in Europe."

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