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The Pretender *
At the beginning all went well. Too well. As always. Anti-militarist and chauvinistic,
France adores the 14 July parade but, since the time of General Boulanger, she has not
liked seditious soldiers so much. There were those shouts at the Algiers Forum, which the
radio broadcast in bursts, the governor’s palace was attacked, in the streets there were
cries of ‘long live Massu’; in Paris there was unity. The trade unions decided to resist
together. Monsieur Pflimlin’s heart was warmed: the President of the Council threw
himself into the investiture ceremonies with the familiar anguish of the apprentice
dictator attempting his coup d’état. He found the strength to quibble over the communist
votes; but it was just to ease his conscience. All in all, pleasant evening, pleasant breeze,
and that delightful mix of hope and concern that you find at all beginnings. Only, there
was a pitfall: we had not seen everything yet.
A great honorary figure is dangerous for a nation; even if he has hidden himself away
in a lonely village. If he says nothing, his past is heard. General de Gaulle had kept silent
for a long time but his past remained among us. Alone against Massu and Salan we could
hold out. But our ministers were caught from behind: suddenly, as they were negotiating
with the generals, they saw at their feet an endless shadow stretching before them.
Already on the
* L’Express, No. 362, 22 May 1958.
opposite shore, Salan was shouting: ‘Long live de Gaulle’, and all the people of Algiers:
‘De Gaulle for president!’
All at once the weather deteriorated: we rediscovered the pitiless logic of disasters;
whatever one does, in such events, everything benefits the enemy. The government,
trying to save itself, was preparing its downfall: to escape from de Gaulle, they were
throwing themselves into the arms of Salan. Most government ministers were convinced
that the massacres in Algeria had to be halted as soon as possible. They wanted to say so;
some, for the first time, had said so. But, if Pflimlin wanted to have a chance of
remaining in post, he had to defeat de Gaulle by outdoing him. He offered twenty-seven
months of military service, 80 billion francs of new taxes, sweeteners for the seditious
generals. In vain: the men of Algiers – civilians as well as military – did not want him.
Nor his money: they wanted de Gaulle.
To remain in power, the government became extremist; his heart broken, Monsieur
Pflimlin sobbed into every microphone: ‘Grave mistake; tragic misunderstanding.’ But
his bellicose pleading was immediately discredited by the very silence of his successor.
In order to bring a smile to the lips of Salan, the government was losing its way: they
would begin by winning a total victory, by wiping out the enemy; then they would
negotiate. Salan would not make up his mind, but while the President of the Council was
urging Algiers to remain confident, the French left asked themselves, in surprise, what