De Gaulle is supposed to reject both integration and independence for Algeria; and as long as the Algerian Liberation Front insists that negotiations must lead to France's acceptance of independence, to reject the latter means to reject the former. De Gaulle's predecessors have had the same attitude. It is a realistic one given the state of mind of Frenchmen in Algeria (both civilian and military) as well as of Frenchmen in France (where very few of the Liberals have come out for independence; on the whole they ask for negotiations, thus forgetting a bit too easily what the Liberation Front's terms are).
But this is a brand of realism which is not likely to bring the war to a rapid close. Meanwhile, France's internal system and international position continue to hinge on the Algerian tragedy.
As for the coming elections, they will probably lead to paradoxical results. The electorate is, in all likelihood, much better disposed toward de Gualle than toward the various parties, with their small membership and low vitality. The voters will have no other choice, however, than to re-elect most of the old party war horses.
DeGaulle Resigned in 1945
Even if parties favorable to de Gaulle get a clear majority, one should remember that a Gaullist majority had also been elected in October, 1945, and that three months later de Gaulle resigned in disgust. This time, to be sure, he is likely to be entrenched in the Presidency of the Republic (or should I say imprisoned?).
Changes between the last Parliment of the Fourth Republic and the first Parliament of the Fifth are likely to result from the new electoral system as much as from possible shifts in the population's votes. What the system will be is still unknown; it is de Gaulle's present cabinet which will be is still unknown; it is de Gaulle's present cabinet which will determine it, and each party is busy advocating the electoral law which is most likely to increase its representation in the next Assembly.
Law May Hurt Communists
One of the purposes of the new law will probably be to reduce the representation of the Communist Party in the National Assembly, so as to make the life of center parties, and of cabinets who depend on them, less uncomfortable. The real problem here, however, remains the size of the Communist vote in the country. Only persistent governmental action in such fields as education, housing, and social legislation has a chance of reducing this vote in the long run.
Whether the new Constitution succeeds or not, it constitutes a temperate effort toward political stability and a bold experiment in "de-colonization." It thus reflects quite well some of the main features of de Gaulle's leadership.
It was a mistake to see in his place for a strong state an echo of Fascism; he has shown himself aware and respectful of France's tradition of freedom, to such an extent that his attempt to establish as much of a powerful Executive as this tradition tolerates might well prove insufficient.
Believes Strongly in French
It wast also a mistake to see in his plea for la grandeur an appeal to old fashioned nationalism. It merely reflects de Gaulle's conviction that the French will not be satisfied with a diminutive role in world affairs, that they are politically at their best only when they believe that they can still do great things together, and that they will not be able to play an important role if they do not face the world of 1958 on its own terms.
De Gaulle warns against a pure and simple regression into the limits and problems of metropolitan France; nothing could be more dangerous than the after-effects of such an amputation of France's historical image of herself.
Nor does the General offer grandilo-quent policy of splendid isolation and shrill pretensions; the modern world requires cooperation between France and her European neighbors on the one hand, and France and the underdeveloped countries of her former Empire on the other.
The big question of France's future is whether de Gaulle's appeal to a modern greatness will turn out to have been realistic or utopian. Only the French can provide the answer.
Challenges People
De Gaulle's own greatness lies in his repeated challenge to them to prove their worth. The novelist and polemecist, Francois Mauriac, has well understood the nature of de Gaulle's present effort when he interpreted the General to mean: "When I will no longer be there, I will continue to serve you through the institutions I have given you, and I will protect you, as I have always wanted to, from the misfortunes you bring upon yourselves. For what is true of individuals is also true of nations: their character is their destiny."