‘Between Me And Chaos’

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31973, 28 April 1969, Page 13

‘Between Me And Chaos’

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) PARIS, April 27. The French decide today whether they want the de Gaulle era to end immediately or continue for another three years.

About 29 million French men and women arc voting today in a referendum, on Senate and regional reforms, which the President has turned into a vote of confidence in himself.

If the electorate's majorityverdict today Is “no,” the General, who has ruled France’s destinies for the last 11 years, will resign. If the majority verdict is “yes,” he will continue his Presidency until his mandate ends in 1972.

Today, General de Gaulle is awaiting his countrymen’s verdict at his country retreat in Colombey-les-deux-Eglises, In eastern France. If rejected, he will probably net return to the capital at all, <but announce his resignation from Colombey. PUBLIC OPINION

No commentators have dared forecast the result of today's referendum: but the evidence of public opinion soundings is that the outcome will hang on only a few thousand ballot papers.

The latest poll showed that 21 per cent of the electorate was still undecided, and that of the remainder, 51 per cent , was against the President and 49 per cent for him. Three factors may have changed this picture: The impact of President de Gaulle's final telecast on Friday night, when he repeated his resignation threat and promised to depart, anyway, in three years time. The very narrowness of the margin between the “noes'' and “yesses” in the public opinion soundings, which may have activated a fear reflex among the undecided and swung the

balance in the President’s favour. The fact that although many Frenchmen grumble about their President, they usually rally to his support in a crisis such as this. On the other hand, an element which could tip the scales against the President is the presence in the aisles of the popular former Prime Minister, Mr Georges Pompidou, a chief architect of General de Gaulle’s crushing electoral victory last June. For many voters, Mr Pompidou’s declared intention to stand for the Presidency when it falls vacant invalidates General de Gaulle's stark choice of “between me and chaos.” For these voters, the real choice is between the President and Mr Pompidou.

One question that many political observers tn Paris have been trying to answer is: why did de Gaulle make the referendum a matter of confidence? One explanation put forward is that be felt his legitimacy as Head of State had been brought Into question by the upheavals in France last spring, when cries of “de Gaulle to the museum" rang through the streets. The President may have felt that his victory in the June elections did nothing to dispel the question mark, and that he wanted a personal vote of confidence to continue his mandate until 1972. Gaullist officials say that widespread distrust o' communism among French voters may help the President survive this critical referendum. In an intense effort to prevent his downfall, Gaullist leaders have warned the nation’s voters that the strong French Communist Party, the second-largest in the West behind Italy's, might come to power. The last polling stations will close at 7 a.m. New Zealand time on Monday morning, and the first results will

begin coming in shortly afterwards. The outcome may be known before 12 noon New Zealand time, but if the vote is so close that the outcome depends on the 2 per cent of voters in France’s overseas territories,’ the verdict could be delayed until late in the afternoon.