1960s in France
Encyclopedia
France emerged from World War II
in the 1960s, rebuilding the country physically and the nation's national identity through the French Fifth Republic
. Under the leadership of President Charles de Gaulle
(1959–1969), France regained its great power status.
, de Gaulle and his supporters (initially organised in the Union pour la Nouvelle République-Union Démocratique du Travail, then the Union des Démocrates pour la Vème République, and later still the Union des Démocrates pour la République
, UDR) won a comfortable majority. In December, de Gaulle was elected President by the electoral college
with 78% of the vote, and inaugurated in January 1959.
He oversaw tough economic measures to revitalize the country, including the issuing of a new franc
(worth 100 old francs). Internationally, he rebuffed both the United States
and the Soviet Union
, pushing for an independent France with its own nuclear weapon
s, and strongly encouraged a "Free Europe
," believing that a confederation of all European nations would restore the past glories of the great European empires. He set about building Franco-German cooperation
as the cornerstone of the European Economic Community (EEC), paying the first state visit
to Germany
by a French head of state since Napoleon. In 1963, Germany and France signed a treaty of friendship, the Élysée Treaty
. France also reduced its dollar
reserves, trading them for gold
from the U.S. government, thereby reducing America's economic influence abroad. See also: Eurabia
On 23 November 1959 in a speech in Strasbourg
, de Gaulle announced his vision for Europe:
His expression, "Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals," has often been cited throughout the history of European integration
. It became, for the next ten years, de Gaulle's favorite political rallying cry. His vision stood in contrast to the Atlanticism
of the United States, Britain and NATO, preferring instead a Europe that would act as a third pole between the United States and the Soviet Union. By including in his ideal of Europe all the territory up to the Urals, de Gaulle was implicitly offering détente
to the Soviets, while his phrase was also interpreted as excluding the United Kingdom
from a future Europe.
He vetoed the British application to join the EEC in 1963, because he thought that the United Kingdom lacked the political will to join the community. Many Britons took de Gaulle's “non” as an insult, especially with the role the United Kingdom had played in the Liberation of France only 19 years earlier.
De Gaulle believed that while the war in Algeria was militarily winnable, it was not defensible internationally, and he became reconciled to the colony's eventual independence. This stance greatly angered the French settlers
and their metropolitan supporters, and de Gaulle was forced to suppress two uprisings in Algeria by French settlers and troops, in the second of which (the Generals' Putsch in April 1961) France herself was threatened with invasion
by rebel paratroops. De Gaulle's government also covered up the Paris massacre of 1961
, issued under the orders of the police prefect Maurice Papon
. He was also targeted by the settler Organisation armée secrète
(OAS) terrorist group and several assassination
attempts were made on him; the most famous is that of 22 August 1962, when he and his wife narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when their Citroën DS
was targeted by machine gun
fire arranged by Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry
at the Petit-Clamart
. After a referendum on Algerian self-determination
carried out in 1961, de Gaulle arranged a cease-fire in Algeria with the March 1962 Evian Accords
, legitimated by another referendum
a month later. Algeria became independent in July 1962, while an amnesty was later issued covering all crimes committed during the war, including the use of torture
. In just a few months in 1962, 900,000 French settlers left the country. The exodus accelerated after the 5th of July 1962 massacre
.
In September 1962, de Gaulle sought a constitutional amendment to allow the president to be directly elected by the people and issued another referendum to this end
, approved by more than three-fifths of voters despite a broad "coalition of no" formed by most of the parties, opposed to a presidential regime. After a motion of censure voted by the Parliament on 4 October 1962 de Gaulle dissolved the National Assembly and held new elections
. Although the left progressed, the Gaullists won an increased majority, despite opposition from the Christian democratic Popular Republican Movement
and the National Centre of Independents and Peasants
(CNIP) who criticized de Gaulle's euroscepticism
and presidentialism. Although the government settled the Algerian issue, Prime Minister Michel Debré
resigned over the final settlement and Georges Pompidou
replaced him.
and a strong stance on the international stage. This was, as named by foreign observers, the "politics of grandeur" (politique de grandeur).
oversaw a rapid transformation and expansion of the French economy. With dirigisme
— a combination of capitalism and state-directed economy — the government intervened heavily in the economy, using indicative five-year plans as its main tool.
High profile projects, mostly but not always financially successful, were launched: the extension of Marseille
harbor (soon ranking third in Europe and first in the Mediterranean
); the promotion of the Caravelle
passenger jetliner (a predecessor of Airbus
); the decision to start building the supersonic Franco-British Concorde
airliner in Toulouse
; the expansion of the French auto industry with state-owned Renault
at its center; and the building of the first motorways between Paris and the provinces.
With these projects, the French economy recorded growth rates unrivaled since the 19th century. In 1963, de Gaulle vetoed Britain's entry into the EEC for the first of two times. In 1964, for the first time in 200 years, France's GDP
overtook that of the United Kingdom
, a position it held until the 1990s. This period is still remembered in France with some nostalgia as the peak of the Trente Glorieuses
(“Thirty Glorious Years" of economic growth between 1945 and 1974).
in the Algeria
n desert (a secret clause of the 1962 Evian Accords
with the Algerian National Liberation Front stated that “Algeria concede... to France the use of certain air bases, terrains, sites and military installations which are necessary to it [France]” during five years.) In 1968, at the insistence of de Gaulle, French scientists finally succeeded in detonating a hydrogen bomb
without American assistance. In what was regarded as a snub to Britain, de Gaulle declared France to be the third big independent nuclear power, as Britain's nuclear force was closely coordinated with that of the United States.
While grandeur was surely an essential motive in these nuclear developments, another was the concern that the U.S., involved in an unpopular and costly war in Vietnam
, would hesitate to intervene in Europe should the Soviet Union decide to invade. De Gaulle wanted to develop an independent force de frappe
. An additional effect was that the French military, which had been demoralized and close to rebellion after the loss of Algeria
, was kept busy. In 1965, France launched its first satellite into orbit
, being the third country in the world to build a complete delivery system, after the Soviet Union and the United States.
, despite the opposition of the U.S. government. Eight years later U.S. President Richard Nixon
visited the PRC and began normalizing relations.
Nixon's first foreign visit after his election was to France in 1969. He and de Gaulle both shared the same non-Wilsonian approach to world affairs, believing in nations and their relative strengths, rather than in ideologies, international organizations, or multilateral agreements. De Gaulle is famously known for calling the United Nations
le Machin ("the thing").
. In February 1966, France withdrew from the common NATO military command, but remained within the organization. He also declared that all foreign military forces had to leave French territory, giving them one year to redeploy.
In September 1966, in a famous speech in Phnom Penh
(Cambodia
), he expressed France's disapproval of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War
, calling for a U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam as the only way to ensure peace. As the Vietnam War had its roots in French colonialism in southeast Asia
, this speech did little to endear de Gaulle to the Americans, even if they later came to the same conclusion.
, but almost more importantly the use of qualified majority voting in the EC (as opposed to unanimity). In June 1965, after France and the other five members could not agree, de Gaulle withdrew France's representatives from the EC. Their absence left the organization essentially unable to run its affairs until the Luxembourg compromise
was reached in January 1966. De Gaulle managed to make QMV essentially meaningless for years to come, and halted more federalist plans for the EC, which he opposed.
is for their occupation
of the West Bank
and Gaza
following the Six-Day War
, saying "Israel is organising, on the territories which it has taken, an occupation which cannot work without oppression, repression and expulsions - and if there appears resistance to this, it will in turn be called 'terrorism'."http://news.independent.co.uk/fisk/article2636206.ece This was a major change in French policy. Until then, France
had been a staunch ally, helping Israel militarily and jointly planning the Suez Campaign in 1956.
Under de Gaulle, following the independence of Algeria
, France embarked on foreign policies more favourable to the Arab
side, still a distinct aspect of French foreign policy
today. Israel's leadership, stung by what it considered its capricious abandonment, turned towards the United States
for military support. However, de Gaulle supported the principle of a just settlement for both the Arab and Jewish refugees of the Middle East within the framework of the United Nations
. This was stated upon the adoption of UN Resolution 242, in his press conference of 27 November 1967 and contained in his letter to David Ben-Gurion
dated 9 January 1968.
in its struggle to gain independence from Nigeria
. Despite lack of official recognition, de Gaulle provided covert military assistance through France's former African colonies. The United Kingdom
opposed de Gaulle's stance, but he viewed the political position of the Igbo
in Nigeria as analogous to that of the French Québécois living in Canada
.
In July 1967, de Gaulle visited Canada
, then-celebrating its centennial with a world's fair
, Expo 67
. On 24 July, speaking to a large crowd from a balcony at Montreal
's city hall, de Gaulle uttered Vive le Québec ! (Long live Quebec!) then added, Vive le Québec libre ! (Long live free Quebec!). Canadian media outlets strongly criticized the statement, and the Prime Minister of Canada
, Lester B. Pearson
, a soldier who had fought in World War I
and a Nobel Peace Prize
winner, stated that "Canadians do not need to be liberated."http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-236-1132-10/on_this_day/politics_economy/vive_quebec_libre De Gaulle left Canada of his own accord the next day without proceeding to Ottawa
as scheduled. He never returned to Canada. The speech caused outrage in most of Canada and led to a serious diplomatic rift between the two countries. However, the event was seen as a watershed moment by the Quebec sovereignty movement
.
In December 1967, claiming continental European solidarity, he again rejected British entry into the European Economic Community. Many have commented that the "policy of grandeur" was probably too ambitious and heavy for the shoulders of France. This policy, it is argued, was only made possible by de Gaulle's resolve, and was not sustainable in the long run. In any case, it is still remembered in France as a defining era of modern French foreign policy, and it still largely inspires policy to this day.
The huge demonstrations and strikes in France in May 1968 severely challenged de Gaulle's legitimacy. He briefly fled to Baden-Baden
and met Massu, then French commander in Germany (to discuss possible army intervention against the protesters, according to popular unofficial accounts).
In a private meeting discussing the students' and workers' demands for direct participation in business and government he coined the phrase "La réforme oui, la chienlit
non," politely translated as 'reform yes, masquerade/chaos no.' It was a vernacular
scatological pun
meaning 'chie-en-lit
, no'. The term is now common parlance in French political commentary, used both critically and ironically referring back to de Gaulle.
De Gaulle offered to accept some of the reforms the demonstrators sought. He again considered a referendum to support his moves, but Pompidou persuaded him to dissolve parliament (in which the government had all but lost its majority in the March 1967 elections) and hold new elections instead. The June 1968 elections were a major success for the Gaullists and their allies; when shown the specter of revolution or even civil war, the majority of the country rallied to him. His party won 358 of 487 seats. Maurice Couve de Murville
replaced Pompidou in July.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the 1960s, rebuilding the country physically and the nation's national identity through the French Fifth Republic
French Fifth Republic
The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, introduced on 4 October 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, replacing the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system...
. Under the leadership of President Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
(1959–1969), France regained its great power status.
1958-62: Founding of the Fifth Republic
In the November 1958 electionsFrench legislative election, 1958
- National Assembly by Parliamentary Group:...
, de Gaulle and his supporters (initially organised in the Union pour la Nouvelle République-Union Démocratique du Travail, then the Union des Démocrates pour la Vème République, and later still the Union des Démocrates pour la République
Union des Démocrates pour la République
The Union for the Defence of the Republic or Union of Democrats for the Republic , commonly abbreviated UDR, was a Gaullist political party of France from 1968 to 1976....
, UDR) won a comfortable majority. In December, de Gaulle was elected President by the electoral college
French presidential election, 1958
The French presidential election of 1958, the first of the French Fifth Republic, took place on December 21, 1958. This was the only French presidential election by the electoral college .-First round:To win, a candidate...
with 78% of the vote, and inaugurated in January 1959.
He oversaw tough economic measures to revitalize the country, including the issuing of a new franc
Franc
The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions and the former currency of France, the French franc until the Euro was adopted in 1999...
(worth 100 old francs). Internationally, he rebuffed both the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, pushing for an independent France with its own nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s, and strongly encouraged a "Free Europe
United States of Europe
Since the 1950s, European integration has seen the development of a supranational system of governance, as its institutions move further from the concept of simple intergovernmentalism. However, with the Maastricht Treaty of 1993, new intergovernmental elements have been introduced alongside the...
," believing that a confederation of all European nations would restore the past glories of the great European empires. He set about building Franco-German cooperation
Franco-German cooperation
The relations between France and Germany is embodied in a cooperation called Franco-German Friendship . This came about after 1945, when a French-German enmity between the two countries ended....
as the cornerstone of the European Economic Community (EEC), paying the first state visit
State visit
A state visit is a formal visit by a foreign head of state to another nation, at the invitation of that nation's head of state. State visits are the highest form of diplomatic contact between two nations, and are marked by ceremonial pomp and diplomatic protocol. In parliamentary democracies, heads...
to Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
by a French head of state since Napoleon. In 1963, Germany and France signed a treaty of friendship, the Élysée Treaty
Élysée Treaty
Élysée Treaty also known as the Treaty of Friendship, was concluded by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer in 1963. It set the seal on reconciliation between the two countries...
. France also reduced its dollar
Dollar
The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including Australia, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.-Etymology:...
reserves, trading them for gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
from the U.S. government, thereby reducing America's economic influence abroad. See also: Eurabia
Eurabia
Eurabia is a conspiracy theory about the alleged Arabization and Islamization of Europe, and the European leaders' alleged capitulation to Islamic influences.-Origin of the term:...
On 23 November 1959 in a speech in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, de Gaulle announced his vision for Europe:
Oui, c'est l'Europe, depuis l'Atlantique jusqu'à l'Oural, c'est toute l'Europe, qui décidera du destin du monde.
("Yes, it is Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals, it is Europe, it is the whole of Europe, that will decide the destiny of the world.")
His expression, "Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals," has often been cited throughout the history of European integration
European integration
European integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe...
. It became, for the next ten years, de Gaulle's favorite political rallying cry. His vision stood in contrast to the Atlanticism
Atlanticism
Atlanticism is a philosophy of cooperation among Western European and North American nations regarding political, economic, and defense issues, with the purpose to maintain the security of the participating countries, and to protect the values that unite them: "democracy, individual liberty and...
of the United States, Britain and NATO, preferring instead a Europe that would act as a third pole between the United States and the Soviet Union. By including in his ideal of Europe all the territory up to the Urals, de Gaulle was implicitly offering détente
Détente
Détente is the easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation. The term is often used in reference to the general easing of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States in the 1970s, a thawing at a period roughly in the middle of the Cold War...
to the Soviets, while his phrase was also interpreted as excluding the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
from a future Europe.
He vetoed the British application to join the EEC in 1963, because he thought that the United Kingdom lacked the political will to join the community. Many Britons took de Gaulle's “non” as an insult, especially with the role the United Kingdom had played in the Liberation of France only 19 years earlier.
De Gaulle believed that while the war in Algeria was militarily winnable, it was not defensible internationally, and he became reconciled to the colony's eventual independence. This stance greatly angered the French settlers
Pied-noir
Pied-Noir , plural Pieds-Noirs, pronounced , is a term referring to French citizens of various origins who lived in French Algeria before independence....
and their metropolitan supporters, and de Gaulle was forced to suppress two uprisings in Algeria by French settlers and troops, in the second of which (the Generals' Putsch in April 1961) France herself was threatened with invasion
Invasion
An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all, or large parts of the armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of either conquering, liberating or re-establishing control or authority over a...
by rebel paratroops. De Gaulle's government also covered up the Paris massacre of 1961
Paris massacre of 1961
The Paris massacre of 1961 was a massacre in Paris on 17 October 1961, during the Algerian War . Under orders from the head of the Parisian police, Maurice Papon, the French police attacked a demonstration of some 30,000 pro-FLN Algerians...
, issued under the orders of the police prefect Maurice Papon
Maurice Papon
Maurice Papon was a French civil servant, industrial leader and Gaullist politician, who was convicted for crimes against humanity for his participation in the deportation of over 1600 Jews during World War II when he was secretary general for police of the Prefecture of Bordeaux.Papon also...
. He was also targeted by the settler Organisation armée secrète
Organisation armée secrète
The Organisation de l'armée secrète was a short-lived, French far-right nationalist militant and underground organization during the Algerian War . The OAS used armed struggle in an attempt to prevent Algeria's independence...
(OAS) terrorist group and several assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
attempts were made on him; the most famous is that of 22 August 1962, when he and his wife narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when their Citroën DS
Citroën DS
The Citroën DS is an executive car produced by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1955 and 1975. Styled by Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre, the DS was known for its aerodynamic futuristic body design and innovative...
was targeted by machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
fire arranged by Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry
Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry
Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry was a French military air weaponry engineer who attempted to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle on 22 August 1962, following Algerian independence...
at the Petit-Clamart
Clamart
Clamart is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.The town is divided into two parts, separated by a forest: bas Clamart, the historical centre, and petit Clamart with urbanization developed in the 1960s replacing pea fields. The canton of...
. After a referendum on Algerian self-determination
French referendum on Algerian self-determination, 1961
A referendum on self-determination for Algeria was held in France on 8 January 1961. It was approved by 75.0% of voters overall and 69.5% in Algeria. Voter turnout was 92.2%.-Results:-Algeria:...
carried out in 1961, de Gaulle arranged a cease-fire in Algeria with the March 1962 Evian Accords
Évian Accords
The Évian Accords comprise a treaty which was signed in 1962 in Évian-les-Bains, France by France and the F.L.N. . The Accords put an end to the Algerian War with a formal cease-fire proclaimed for March 19, and formalized the idea of cooperative exchange between the two countries...
, legitimated by another referendum
French Évian Accords referendum, 1962
A referendum to approve the Évian Accords ending the Algerian War and granting self determination to Algeria was held in France on 8 April 1962...
a month later. Algeria became independent in July 1962, while an amnesty was later issued covering all crimes committed during the war, including the use of torture
Torture during the Algerian War
Elements of the French Armed Forces as well as of the opposing Algerian National Liberation Front made use of torture during the Algerian War of Independence , creating an ongoing public controversy. Pierre Vidal-Naquet estimates that there were "possibly hundreds of thousands of instances of...
. In just a few months in 1962, 900,000 French settlers left the country. The exodus accelerated after the 5th of July 1962 massacre
Oran massacre of 1962
The Oran massacre of 1962 was a massacre of European—mostly French—civilians in Oran, Algeria on July 5, 1962, at the end of the Algerian War . Although the majority of deaths were European, Algerians were also massacred. Estimates of the death toll vary widely, from a low of 95 to a high of 3,500....
.
In September 1962, de Gaulle sought a constitutional amendment to allow the president to be directly elected by the people and issued another referendum to this end
French presidential election referendum, 1962
A referendum on the direct election of the President was held in France on 28 October 1962. It was approved by 62.3% of voters with a 77.0% turnout...
, approved by more than three-fifths of voters despite a broad "coalition of no" formed by most of the parties, opposed to a presidential regime. After a motion of censure voted by the Parliament on 4 October 1962 de Gaulle dissolved the National Assembly and held new elections
French legislative election, 1962
- National Assembly by Parliamentary Group:...
. Although the left progressed, the Gaullists won an increased majority, despite opposition from the Christian democratic Popular Republican Movement
Popular Republican Movement
The Popular Republican Movement was a French Christian democratic party of the Fourth Republic...
and the National Centre of Independents and Peasants
National Centre of Independents and Peasants
The National Centre of Independents and Peasants is a liberal-conservative and conservative-liberal political party in France, founded in 1949 by the merger of the National Centre of Independents with the...
(CNIP) who criticized de Gaulle's euroscepticism
Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...
and presidentialism. Although the government settled the Algerian issue, Prime Minister Michel Debré
Michel Debré
Michel Jean-Pierre Debré was a French Gaullist politician. He is considered the "father" of the current Constitution of France, and was the first Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic...
resigned over the final settlement and Georges Pompidou
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:...
replaced him.
1962–68: Politics of grandeur
With the Algerian conflict behind him, de Gaulle achieved his two main objectives: to reform and develop the French economy, and to promote an independent foreign policyForeign relations of France
A charter member of the United Nations, France holds one of the permanent seats in the Security Council and is a member of most of its specialized and related agencies.-Nicolas Sarkozy:...
and a strong stance on the international stage. This was, as named by foreign observers, the "politics of grandeur" (politique de grandeur).
"Thirty glorious years"
In the context of a population boom unseen in France since the 18th century, the government under prime minister Georges PompidouGeorges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:...
oversaw a rapid transformation and expansion of the French economy. With dirigisme
Dirigisme
Dirigisme is an economy in which the government exerts strong directive influence. While the term has occasionally been applied to centrally planned economies, where the state effectively controls both production and allocation of resources , it originally had neither of these meanings when...
— a combination of capitalism and state-directed economy — the government intervened heavily in the economy, using indicative five-year plans as its main tool.
High profile projects, mostly but not always financially successful, were launched: the extension of Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
harbor (soon ranking third in Europe and first in the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
); the promotion of the Caravelle
Caravelle
Caravelle may be a reference to:* Caravelle, the French marketing name for the typeface Folio* Sud Aviation Caravelle, the short/medium-range jet airliner, produced by Sud Aviation...
passenger jetliner (a predecessor of Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
); the decision to start building the supersonic Franco-British Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
airliner in Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
; the expansion of the French auto industry with state-owned Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
at its center; and the building of the first motorways between Paris and the provinces.
With these projects, the French economy recorded growth rates unrivaled since the 19th century. In 1963, de Gaulle vetoed Britain's entry into the EEC for the first of two times. In 1964, for the first time in 200 years, France's GDP
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
overtook that of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, a position it held until the 1990s. This period is still remembered in France with some nostalgia as the peak of the Trente Glorieuses
Trente Glorieuses
Les Trente Glorieuses refers to the thirty years from 1945-1975 following the end of the Second World War in France. The name was first used by the French demographer Jean Fourastié...
(“Thirty Glorious Years" of economic growth between 1945 and 1974).
Fourth nuclear power
This strong economic foundation enabled de Gaulle to implement his independent foreign policy. In 1960, France became the fourth state to acquire a nuclear arsenal, detonating an atomic bombGerboise Bleue
Gerboise Bleue was the name of the first French nuclear test. It was an atomic bomb detonated in the middle of the Algerian Sahara desert on 13 February 1960, during the Algerian War...
in the Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n desert (a secret clause of the 1962 Evian Accords
Évian Accords
The Évian Accords comprise a treaty which was signed in 1962 in Évian-les-Bains, France by France and the F.L.N. . The Accords put an end to the Algerian War with a formal cease-fire proclaimed for March 19, and formalized the idea of cooperative exchange between the two countries...
with the Algerian National Liberation Front stated that “Algeria concede... to France the use of certain air bases, terrains, sites and military installations which are necessary to it [France]” during five years.) In 1968, at the insistence of de Gaulle, French scientists finally succeeded in detonating a hydrogen bomb
Canopus (nuclear test)
Canopus was the code name for France's first two-stage thermonuclear test, conducted on August 24, 1968 at Fangataufa atoll...
without American assistance. In what was regarded as a snub to Britain, de Gaulle declared France to be the third big independent nuclear power, as Britain's nuclear force was closely coordinated with that of the United States.
While grandeur was surely an essential motive in these nuclear developments, another was the concern that the U.S., involved in an unpopular and costly war in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, would hesitate to intervene in Europe should the Soviet Union decide to invade. De Gaulle wanted to develop an independent force de frappe
Force de frappe
The Force de Frappe is the designation of what used to be a triad of air-, sea- and land-based nuclear weapons intended for dissuasion, and consequential deterrence...
. An additional effect was that the French military, which had been demoralized and close to rebellion after the loss of Algeria
Algerian War of Independence
The Algerian War was a conflict between France and Algerian independence movements from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria's gaining its independence from France...
, was kept busy. In 1965, France launched its first satellite into orbit
Diamant
The Diamant rocket was the first exclusively French expendable launch system and at the same time the first satellite launcher not built by either the USA or USSR. As such it is the main predecessor of all subsequent European launcher projects...
, being the third country in the world to build a complete delivery system, after the Soviet Union and the United States.
China
De Gaulle was convinced that a strong and independent France could act as a balancing force between the United States and the Soviet Union, a policy seen as little more than posturing and opportunism by his critics, particularly in Britain and the United States, to which France was formally allied. In January 1964, he officially recognized the People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, despite the opposition of the U.S. government. Eight years later U.S. President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
visited the PRC and began normalizing relations.
Nixon's first foreign visit after his election was to France in 1969. He and de Gaulle both shared the same non-Wilsonian approach to world affairs, believing in nations and their relative strengths, rather than in ideologies, international organizations, or multilateral agreements. De Gaulle is famously known for calling the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
le Machin ("the thing").
Second round
In December 1965, de Gaulle returned as president for a second seven-year term, but this time he had to go through a second round of voting in which he defeated François MitterrandFrançois Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
. In February 1966, France withdrew from the common NATO military command, but remained within the organization. He also declared that all foreign military forces had to leave French territory, giving them one year to redeploy.
In September 1966, in a famous speech in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
(Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
), he expressed France's disapproval of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, calling for a U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam as the only way to ensure peace. As the Vietnam War had its roots in French colonialism in southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, this speech did little to endear de Gaulle to the Americans, even if they later came to the same conclusion.
Empty Chair Crisis
During the establishment of the European Community, de Gaulle helped precipitate one of the greatest crises in the history of the EC, the Empty Chair Crisis. It involved the financing of the Common Agricultural PolicyCommon Agricultural Policy
The Common Agricultural Policy is a system of European Union agricultural subsidies and programmes. It represents 48% of the EU's budget, €49.8 billion in 2006 ....
, but almost more importantly the use of qualified majority voting in the EC (as opposed to unanimity). In June 1965, after France and the other five members could not agree, de Gaulle withdrew France's representatives from the EC. Their absence left the organization essentially unable to run its affairs until the Luxembourg compromise
Luxembourg compromise
The Luxembourg compromise or Luxembourg Accords was an agreement reached in January 1966 which resolved differences within the European Economic Community....
was reached in January 1966. De Gaulle managed to make QMV essentially meaningless for years to come, and halted more federalist plans for the EC, which he opposed.
Six-Day War
Having vetoed Britain's entry into the EEC a second time, in June 1967, he condemned the IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
is for their occupation
Military occupation
Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...
of the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
following the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
, saying "Israel is organising, on the territories which it has taken, an occupation which cannot work without oppression, repression and expulsions - and if there appears resistance to this, it will in turn be called 'terrorism'."http://news.independent.co.uk/fisk/article2636206.ece This was a major change in French policy. Until then, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
had been a staunch ally, helping Israel militarily and jointly planning the Suez Campaign in 1956.
Under de Gaulle, following the independence of Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, France embarked on foreign policies more favourable to the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
side, still a distinct aspect of French foreign policy
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
today. Israel's leadership, stung by what it considered its capricious abandonment, turned towards the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for military support. However, de Gaulle supported the principle of a just settlement for both the Arab and Jewish refugees of the Middle East within the framework of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. This was stated upon the adoption of UN Resolution 242, in his press conference of 27 November 1967 and contained in his letter to David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
dated 9 January 1968.
Nigerian Civil War
During Nigeria's civil war of 1967-1970, de Gaulle's government supported the Republic of BiafraBiafra
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a secessionist state in south-eastern Nigeria that existed from 30 May 1967 to 15 January 1970, taking its name from the Bight of Biafra . The inhabitants were mostly the Igbo people who led the secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious...
in its struggle to gain independence from Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. Despite lack of official recognition, de Gaulle provided covert military assistance through France's former African colonies. The United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
opposed de Gaulle's stance, but he viewed the political position of the Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...
in Nigeria as analogous to that of the French Québécois living in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Vive le Québec Libre!
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, then-celebrating its centennial with a world's fair
World's Fair
World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...
, Expo 67
Expo 67
The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...
. On 24 July, speaking to a large crowd from a balcony at Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
's city hall, de Gaulle uttered Vive le Québec ! (Long live Quebec!) then added, Vive le Québec libre ! (Long live free Quebec!). Canadian media outlets strongly criticized the statement, and the Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
, Lester B. Pearson
Lester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
, a soldier who had fought in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and a Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
winner, stated that "Canadians do not need to be liberated."http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-236-1132-10/on_this_day/politics_economy/vive_quebec_libre De Gaulle left Canada of his own accord the next day without proceeding to Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
as scheduled. He never returned to Canada. The speech caused outrage in most of Canada and led to a serious diplomatic rift between the two countries. However, the event was seen as a watershed moment by the Quebec sovereignty movement
Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...
.
In December 1967, claiming continental European solidarity, he again rejected British entry into the European Economic Community. Many have commented that the "policy of grandeur" was probably too ambitious and heavy for the shoulders of France. This policy, it is argued, was only made possible by de Gaulle's resolve, and was not sustainable in the long run. In any case, it is still remembered in France as a defining era of modern French foreign policy, and it still largely inspires policy to this day.
May 1968
De Gaulle's government was criticized within France, particularly for its heavy-handed style. While the written press and elections were free, the state had a monopoly on television and radio broadcasts (though there were private stations broadcasting from abroad; see ORTF) and the executive occasionally told public broadcasters the bias that they desired on news. In many respects, society was traditionalistic and repressive, especially regarding the position of women. Many factors contributed to a general weariness of sections of the public, particularly the student youth, which led to the events of May 1968.The huge demonstrations and strikes in France in May 1968 severely challenged de Gaulle's legitimacy. He briefly fled to Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden is a spa town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe...
and met Massu, then French commander in Germany (to discuss possible army intervention against the protesters, according to popular unofficial accounts).
In a private meeting discussing the students' and workers' demands for direct participation in business and government he coined the phrase "La réforme oui, la chienlit
Chienlit
Chienlit is a traditional French term typically translated as masquerade or carnival/chaos. It was brought to notoriety by General Charles de Gaulle in an angry speech during the student protests in Paris during May 1968 in France, when he used the vernacular term as a scatological pun "La...
non," politely translated as 'reform yes, masquerade/chaos no.' It was a vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
scatological pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
meaning 'chie-en-lit
Chienlit
Chienlit is a traditional French term typically translated as masquerade or carnival/chaos. It was brought to notoriety by General Charles de Gaulle in an angry speech during the student protests in Paris during May 1968 in France, when he used the vernacular term as a scatological pun "La...
, no'. The term is now common parlance in French political commentary, used both critically and ironically referring back to de Gaulle.
De Gaulle offered to accept some of the reforms the demonstrators sought. He again considered a referendum to support his moves, but Pompidou persuaded him to dissolve parliament (in which the government had all but lost its majority in the March 1967 elections) and hold new elections instead. The June 1968 elections were a major success for the Gaullists and their allies; when shown the specter of revolution or even civil war, the majority of the country rallied to him. His party won 358 of 487 seats. Maurice Couve de Murville
Maurice Couve de Murville
Maurice Couve de Murville was a French diplomat and politician who was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1958 to 1968 and Prime Minister from 1968 to 1969 under the presidency of General de Gaulle....
replaced Pompidou in July.