France: De Gaulle's Quatorzieme

FRANCE De Gaulle's Quatorzrème

Charles de Gaulle is a tough act to follow, even for Charles de Gaulle. Virtually every year since he took office in 1959, the President of France has semiannually stooped to meet the press in the glittering Salle des Fetes of the Elysee Palace. In many of his 13 previous performances he has produced a stunning piece of news for the world, such as the Seventh, in which he vetoed British entry into the Common Market, and the Twelfth, when he revealed that France would withdraw from NATO. Last week he convened the Quatorzième—and discovered that he had little new to say.

He lectured the French on the virtues of peace and prosperity under his Fifth

Republic, and urged them to vote Gaullist in next year's parliamentary elections. He invited the U.S. to leave Viet Nam and let the Vietnamese "settle their affairs in their own fashion," even if the Americans find "the political consequences not what they wish."

In fact, De Gaulle spent more time talking about tiny French Somaliland than any other foreign topic. Street rioting for independence greeted him in Djibouti on his visit last August, and the memory still rankles. De Gaulle announced that the Somalis will be given their independence if they opt for it in a forthcoming referendum. If they do, they will be sorry, for France will pull out entirely, and "certainly not engage its resources and its troops to support the appearance of a state"—which is at least brutally consistent with his views about the U.S. role in Viet Nam.