A Popularly Elected President?

Hailed in the press as Karl der Grosse and Charles I, Emperor of Europe, President de Gaulle last week capped his historic, hugely successful state visit to West Germany with a momentous confession. Speaking for once as a citizen rather than as the voice of France, Charles de Gaulle revealed that he himself, through "the grandfather of my maternal grandfather," a barber-surgeon who served in Napoleon's army, has been one-sixteenth German all these years.

After bestowing this bouquet on his hosts, the General flew home in a mood to make sure that France's new union with Germany does not falter at the altar. In a meeting with his Cabinet, De Gaulle declared that France could maintain the respect of Germany and its position as the "leader of Western Europe" only by ensuring that the nation does not relapse, after his death or retirement, into "the precarious and disastrous condition that it knew for 50 years" of unending political crises. To correct what he once called "the badly constructed framework" of the Third and Fourth Republics, De Gaulle proposes to strengthen the present presidential system and thus confer on his successor the authority that Charles de Gaulle enjoys by virtue of his immense personal prestige.

To Rule, Not Reign. De Gaulle's plan, to be announced in a nationwide broadcast this week, calls for a referendum to be held in late October on a new constitutional amendment that would permit direct popular election of the President by France's 27.5 million registered voters.

Until le grand Charles, France's President had been a largely ceremonial figurehead --"an announcer of ambassadors" in his scornful words, who "reigns but does not rule." Presently the President is chosen by a college of 80,000 electors: municipal and departmental officials, members of Parliament, and representatives of France's Overseas Territories. De Gaulle seeks to widen this mandate.

However, the presidential system envisaged by De Gaulle dispenses with the checks and balances of the U.S. presidency, which many Gaullists profess to admire. "The President," said he, "must be a chief, not an umpire." All foreign policy, defense and budgetary decisions would in effect still be "reserved" for the President. Parliament would be a virtual rubber stamp body, subject at any time to dissolution by the all-powerful chief executive. And though De Gaulle has described a strong presidency as an eventual "influence of continuity," his blueprint contains no provision for vice-presidential succession in an emergency. If De Gaulle were to die tomorrow, the office would go to Senate President Gaston Monnerville, an undistinguished politician from French Guiana.

Confession Session. Opposition to De Gaulle's proposals was intense among French politicians, who have become increasingly resentful of his autocratic ways.

"At best Salazar, at worst presidentialism in the South American manner," snapped Socialist ex-Premier Guy Mollet, who supported De Gaulle's return to power in 1958. Peppery ex-Premier Paul Reynaud voiced the fears of many conservative leaders with the argument that De Gaulle's reforms, "by personalizing government powers even more," would strengthen subversive elements; their "only problem would be to overthrow De Gaulle, dictatorial power then devolving on them." But there was little doubt that De Gaulle, as usual, would have his way. In three previous referendums--the latest concerned his formula for the Algerian peace agreement--he never failed to pull in less than 70% of all Frenchmen who voted. To ensure that his administration presents a solid front, De Gaulle last week reshuffled his Cabinet to make it more strongly Gaullist, elevated Christian Fouchet, an outspokenly honest official who served with distinction as chairman of the Common Market's committee on political unity, to the post of Minister of Information. This week, in a series of face-to-face interviews that the press immediately dubbed "sessions in the confessional," the entire Cabinet will be asked by De Gaulle either to approve his plans for the presidency or to resign.

What disturbs many admirers of De Gaulle is that by going directly to the people he will plainly be circumventing the constitution that was tailor-made to his specifications four years ago; it specifically requires all constitutional amendments to be submitted to Parliament before going to a popular vote. But De Gaulle seemed grandly unconcerned. According to a tale making the rounds in Paris last week, the President was asked whether his reforms will not in fact be a "rape of the constitution." His reply: "Does one rape his own wife?"

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