A SUDDEN PARTING: How Pompidou Was Fired

The leader must aim high, show that he has vision, act on a grand scale. --Charles de Gaulle (1932)

There cannot be a couple at the head of state. Only one man can be in charge. Otherwise, the people get the impression that the No. 2 man is doing the steering. --De Gaulle (1967)

ALL his life, Charles de Gaulle has pondered the mystique of power. Last week, true to his own egocentric reasoning, he applied his maxims in a government shift that dumfounded his countrymen, angered the Gaullist party and raised doubts in France about the wisdom of his future policy. In what was perhaps the most ungracious ouster of a head of government since Germany's Wilhelm II fired Bismarck in 1890, De Gaulle dropped his old friend and loyal helper, Georges Pompidou, as Premier. As his replacement, De Gaulle tapped his longtime Foreign Minister, Maurice Couve de Murville, a suave aristocrat who has no personal political ambitions.

The dismissal was all the more ironic because, in all likelihood, De Gaulle would no longer be in the Elysee Palace if it were not for Pompidou. At the height of the May riots, it was Pompidou who kept the government running, cooled the strife between the security forces and the rebellious students, and got the workers back to their jobs. After that, he masterminded the amazingly successful election campaign that won for Gaullists the largest parliamentary majority that any government has held in nearly 100 years. In the process, Pompidou, who had never held a political office before he became Premier six years ago, gained considerable political stature in France. He became, in fact, the first Gaullist politician to develop an identity of his own in spite of De Gaulle's overshadowing presence. Pompidou's success became his downfall.

No Secret. For many Frenchmen and foreigners alike, the dismissal confirmed the impression that De Gaulle's recent brush with near-disaster had not made him one whit less willful or arbitrary. There also was concern about the future course of De Gaulle's policies. The general has interpreted the big election victory as a mandate to push through his reforms. The main one is participation, which he envisions as a new way of life that will enable students to have more say in the running of the universities and workers to share in both the profits and managerial decisions in their plants.

A onetime banker, Pompidou made no secret of the fact that he felt it would be dangerous to undertake any industrial reform in the wake of France's month-long economic paralysis. French businessmen and unionists counted on him to talk some reason into De Gaulle. At present, France is losing funds at such a drastic rate--$300 million to $400 million a week--that its net reserves of some $5 billion in gold and currency will be imperiled within a few months unless the huge outflow of francs is somehow checked.

Too Big Too Soon. With his penchant for obfuscation, De Gaulle phased out Pompidou in such a manner that the import of the affair was open to varying interpretations. After national elections, the Premier is required by law to hand in his and his government's resignation. De Gaulle used the procedure to dump Pompidou, but then cast the situation in another light by including in his farewell letter an intriguing line: "Dear Friend, hold yourself in readiness to fulfill any mandate the nation may one day bestow upon you."

It was vague in a Delphic way, and to some interpreters of the oracle it meant that De Gaulle, despite his decision to dismiss Pompidou, had actually settled on him as his successor in the presidency. Most people felt, however, that it was simply a case of an old man canning a younger potential rival who, in the words of one of Pompidou's aides, "had gotten too big too soon." Any doubt that Pompidou was sacked was more or less dispelled when Couve re appointed practically every Minister in the old Cabinet--an indication that De Gaulle wanted only a change of Premier.

The story of Pompidou's dismissal, one of the most extraordinary chronicles of recent political history, is herewith detailed by TIME'S Paris bureau chief, Curt Prendergast. De Gaulle had actually been thinking about replacing Pompidou for a couple of years. He had, after all, kept Pompidou's predecessor, Michel Debre, for only three years, then dumped him once Debre had presided over the unpleasant business of granting Algeria independence--despite Debre's own opposition to the idea. The roots of the present events were struck in the May revolts, when Pompidou and De Gaulle had opposing ideas about how to bring France back to normal. De Gaulle wanted to hold a referendum on his participation scheme, which he felt would give the strikers and rioters the concessions that they wanted. Pompidou threatened to resign if De Gaulle did that, and pressed him instead to dissolve the National Assembly and call new elections. Many politicians believed that Pompidou also warned that if France did not heed De Gaulle's appeal for order, "Mon General,-you must leave."

Less Friendly. After a few days of indecision, De Gaulle followed Pompidou's advice--with excellent results. By the time the campaign started, De Gaulle was already thinking about post-election strategy. If the election produced only a small Gaullist majority, De Gaulle planned to keep on Pompidou for several months at least in order to use his expert parliamentary guidance for shepherding De Gaulle's reform bills through the National Assembly. Unwittingly, Pompidou hastened his own exit by engineering an election landslide. After the first round of voting indicated that the Gaullists would win handsomely, the general sounded out Pompidou about his future plans. Pompidou played into De Gaulle's design by confessing his extreme exhaustion and his understand able desire to take a long vacation.

In the wake of the second-round sweep, De Gaulle again questioned Pompidou about his plans. So confident was Pompidou that De Gaulle would insist on his staying on that he again mentioned his need for a rest. By July 1, Pompidou sensed a less friendly atmosphere at the Elysee. As one Minister put it: "There was that air, the chauffeurs and the ushers talk, you know, and then there were those dossiers being brought in"--a sign that De Gaulle was poring over secret personnel records of all possible candidates.

The climax came on July 5, a Friday, which happened to be Pompidou's 57th birthday. De Gaulle called in Couve to the Elysee for long and serious talks that morning, and worried friends telephoned Pompidou to tell him about the unexpected conferences. That afternoon Couve came to a routine Cabinet meeting at the Hotel Matignon, the Premier's official residence, and told Pompidou that he felt that Pompidou should remain as Premier and that if Pompidou wished to, he should tell the general so.

Last-Minute Call. The following morning, Pompidou telephoned Bernard Tricot, De Gaulle's top administrative aide, at the Elysee. If De Gaulle wanted him to stay, he would be glad to, said Pompidou. His only conditions were that he be given a say in drafting the participation bill and a free hand in running the National Assembly. Beyond that, all he wanted was a little well-earned rest --perhaps a two-week vacation. Tricot rang back after noon with a message from De Gaulle. It was too late; the general had already made up his mind. In fact, he had called in Couve after dinner the night before to tell him to form a government of his own.

By late Monday, rumors of Pompidou's dismissal were racing about Paris, but the Elysee remained noncommittal. Finally, on Tuesday, Pompidou was summoned to the palace to receive the word in person from De Gaulle, and their exchange of correspondence was released to the press. Then Pompidou went to a caucus of the newly elected Gaullist Deputies in the National Assembly. Most of them were angry that a vote getter as effective as Pompidou had been sidetracked in favor of a man who is anything but a crowd pleaser. But Pompidou, though he was bitterly hurt by De Gaulle's treatment, remained loyal. "It is not for us to question his decisions," Pompidou told the Deputies. "It is for the President, and him alone, to name the Premier."

Pompidou also discounted the possibility that De Gaulle had somehow anointed him for the presidency, since De Gaulle had made no move to set up the machinery to effect an orderly transfer of the presidency after he departs--and given no assurance that he would. In fact, the one thing that people close to Pompidou deduced from the situation was that De Gaulle in tended to remain around a while longer. There is now speculation in Paris that De Gaulle's wife Yvonne insists that he must step down late next year, when he will be 79. That would leave three years of his present seven-year term unexpired.

Down, Not Out. Though he now holds no office except that of Deputy from his mountainous constituency in Cantal, Pompidou remains an important political figure in France. After a summer vacation in Brittany, he intends to return to Paris, write a book and take an active part in the National Assembly. It is not impossible that De Gaulle may some day call on him again. France's future at the moment is highly uncertain. De Gaulle last week warned students and workers that his government will crack down hard on any further disorders--hardly a conciliatory posture. In the event that Couve fails to direct a successful reform program or that France lapses into violence again, De Gaulle could recall Pompidou, whose reputation would be unsullied by the intervening events. In that case, no one could say that Charles de Gaulle had not had such an eventuality in mind all along.

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