French Political Instability

Report Outline
Unstable France and the Western Alliance
Causes of Recurrent Parliamentary Crises
Efforts to Achieve Greater Stability
Special Focus

Unstable France and the Western Alliance

Political instability in France has been a disturbing factor in inter-allied relationships in the past and may be an even more disturbing factor in the future. The reasons for French uncertainties and hesitations—the desire for firm assurances on the one hand while with-holding firm assurances on the other—are little understood in foreign countries.

At the same time, it is clear that the ability of the western powers to maintain a united front in forthcoming negotiations with Soviet Russia and on plans for consolidating the European defense system depends in large measure upon a strong and stable France. If she is to discharge her responsibilities under commitments jointly undertaken with Great Britain and the United States, her heads of state will need a firmer basis of support among the political parties and among the people of France than they have enjoyed at any time in the recent past.

Kaleidoscopic Cabinet Changes Since War

On Dec. 17, the French parliament meets at Versailles to elect a successor to Vincent Auriol, Socialist, whose seven-year term as first president of the Fourth Republic expires a month later. After the election, the present Laniel cabinet becomes a “caretaker government” and remains in that status until the new president is inaugurated on Jan. 17, 1954. The cabinet then submits its resignation and a new government, which may be little different from the present one, must obtain a vote of confidence in the National Assembly.