French Governmental Crisis

Archive Report

De Gaulle's Showdown With Parliament

Popular approval of an amendment to the French Constitution, in a nation-wide referendum on October 28, gave President Charles de Gaulle a crucial though hardly spectacular victory in the bitter struggle he has been waging with the French Parliament. The amendment provides for election of future presidents of France directly by the people instead of indirectly, as at present, by an 80,000-member electoral college.1 A more important test awaits de Gaulle on the third and fourth Sundays of November, when the voters will go to the polls again to elect a new National Assembly.2

Election of a pro-Gaullist majority would be expected to lead to drastic reorganization of the existing political party structure in France. Election of a large anti-Gaullist majority ...

locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles