De Gaulle Survives Assassination Bid

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29909, 24 August 1962, Page 11

De Gaulle Survives Assassination Bid

(N Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

PARIS, August 23.

A huge hunt has begun in France for the commando men who made a. clean escape last night after a machine-gun attempt to assassinate President de Gaulle.

He and Mrs de Gaulle, who was with her husband in the presidential car when it was ambushed by gunmen on the Paris outskirts, escaped unhurt.

Between 120 and 150 rounds of machinegun fire were aimed at the President’s car, bursting two tyres, smashing the rear window and pitting the coachwork with a dozen bullet holes, the Interior Minister, Mr Roger Frey, told reporters. .

President de Gaulle had “retained his usual imperturbable calm, but I think this

time he found it a little close,” Mr Frey said. This was the second attempt within a year to assassinate the President.

Police set up a network of road checks and patrols with radio cars. Immediately after the attack they found abandoned a yellow van used by the commandos, with two machine-guns and an unexploded plastic bomb inside. There was no other trace of the men.

Mr Frey called a midnight conference of top security chiefs at his Ministry and conferred in the early hours with the Prime Minister, Mr Georges Pompidou, on mea-

sures to be taken to catch the attackers and protect the President’s life.

He told reporters that the “number one objective of the subversive organisation (apparently a reference to the Secret Army Organisation) is to kill the President of the Republic.” He said a commando unit of about 10 men, some in cars and some believed to be on foot, staged last night's ambush as the President drove from the Elysee Palace to Villacoublay airport outside Paris, on his way to his country home at Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises. Today the search was extended southwards Into the Yonme department south of Paris, of which Auxerre is the main town. This was where the van, used by the commandos, was found.

An intense comb-out of known “activists,” including those known to be among Europeans recently repatriated from Algeria, was predicted in the hunt for the attackers.

Concern was expressed in high Government circles early today at the ease with which the commandos escaped. Only one car containing bodyguards was in the offi-

cial convoy, following President de Gaulle, instead of the usual two. Had there been, two, Mr Frey told reporters, one could have stopped and returned the fire of the attackers.

General de Gaulle had just presided over a Paris Cabinet meeting at which stiffer measures were decided to deal with opponents of the regime and with gangsters in possession of firearms and explosives. General de Gaulle continued his journey as planned after the shooting.

Police said shots w r ere fired at General de Gaulle’s car with an automatic weapon from another car at a roundabout crossroads at Petit Clamart, near Villacoublay airfield. Bullets hit the tyres of the Presidential car, but as the car had bullet-proof tyres, it was able to continue. Two other cars, not in the Presidential convoy had their tyres punctured by stray bullets.

Police said two private motorists were "slightly injured,” and a bullet pierced the helmet of one of the motor-cyclists in General de Gaulle's escort, but he was uninjured.