 | abichara (60)
04/04/2004 |  Charles de Gaulle was a bit imperious and self-important, but one cannot deny the impact he had on the history of France. His history spans the lengths of his countries history through the 20th Century, he is the mirror image of that country in many ways. Look at his name, de Gaulle, of the Gauls. OK, maybe he changed his name to of the French, but he considered himself the embodiment of France. During the First World War, he served in the Army. He was captured but at the end of the war he was released and continued his career in the military. His biggest contribution to military science came with the 1934 publication of his now very obscure tract The Army of the Future. In it, he advocated the need for France to convert over to mechanized warfare. He argued futily for reform of the French military, but it came too little too late. de Gaulle became a brigadier general in 1940 where he opposed the French-German armistice on the grounds that Hitlers forces were unequal to France's. Hitler's army swept the country rapidly that same year in large part because military planners failed to take de Gaulle's advice. That same year, he fled to London, where he formed the Free French forces which fought in Africa and the Middle East successfully against the Nazi's. As a wartime leader, he was notoriously difficult to get along with. Once the Allies got a foothold on France, de Gaulle's government returned to Paris in late 1944. He was elected President unanimously in 1945 but resigned when it became obvious that a strong executive branch wouldn't be part of the governmental structure. French politics is notoriously bureaucratic and factional. He tried to remain above ideology, but that was a difficult proposition being that he was fighting against extreme elements from the far left to the far right. De Gaulle was a center-right candidate, a firm nationalist who believed that foreign, namely American, interferance was uncalled for. De Gaulle retired in 1953 when he got tired of the political fighting, but he got a second lease on life when the 4th Republic collapsed from the onset of the colonial revolt in Algeria. He was the only person with the stature to deal with the immense problems which faced the country. He initially became a premier with almost dictatorial powers initially. During this time, he re-made the French government in his image, the result being the establishment of the 5th Republic. He strengthened the power of the Presidency and drew up a new Constitution. One of his first acts was to give Algeria self-determination. This was the most controversial decision in his Presidency. Algeria was considered the crown jewel of France's colonial empire, but the population was restive there and couldn't be put down. What made it even more difficult was that there were over 1 million French citizens living in Algeria at the time, it was really just like any other province of the country really. A disgrutled former French Algerian nearly assassinated him in 1962. Ultimately they had to get out of that country which they occupied since 1832, the government could no longer afford the occupational burden. De Gaulle tried to restore the financial health of the country by devaluing the old franc and creating a new one with 100 units of the old francs. Even though he argued for self-determination for the colonies, de Gaulle pushed a French national greatness philosophy by kicking NATO out the country and parity within the organization with the United States in making decisions. He supported the European Common Market (later to become the EU) as long as it was dominated by France, which is was for a long time. He continued to foster a binary relationship with West Germany, which was good for both of their economies. He became one of the first Western leaders to recognize Red China in the late 1960's, probably in an effort to play the United States against the Soviets. He was one of the leaders of the non-aligned movement. De Gaulle's however overstayed his welcome; the government was toppled by protestors complaining about the political system. He died a year after his resignation. Every French leader since De Gaulle has been compared to him, probably because the powers of the executive were made for someone with the personality and wide appeal of De Gaulle himself. The French government is very unstable, almost teetering of the edge of collapse many times. A divided government is awkward and tense under this system. But no one can deny de Gaulle's impact on France, he's one of the 20th Centuries most important leaders.
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