This is the latest volume to appear in the successful 'Cambridge History of Modem France’, and is the most authoritative account available in English of the presidency of Georges Pompidou. Pompidou consolidated the constitutional changes made by de Gaulle, to the extent that he is now regarded as the Fifth Republic’s second founding father, and continued de Gaulle’s haughty attitudes to foreign policy. He also launched a programme of modernization and industrialization: under Pompidou France saw both the climax and the end of the post­ war boom. Serge Berstein and Jean-Pierre Rioux analyse the politics of the period, and also give an overview of France’s economy, culture and society. Their comprehensive study contains all the standard features, such as maps, chronology and tables, which have helped this series to establish itself as the premier multi-volume account of modem France. Students, scholars and teachers in history and political studies will find this volume invaluable. serge Berstein is Professor of History at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris, and the author of The Republic of de Gaulle, La République sur le fil and numerous other books on modem French history. jean-pierre Rioux is Director of Research at the Institut d’Histoire du Temps Présent, Paris. His many books include The Fourth Republic, 1944-1958 and Pour une histoire culturelle. The Cambridge History of Modern France 9 The Pompidou Years, 1969-1974 This book is published as part of the joint publishing agreement established in 1977 between the Fondation de la Maison des Sciences de 1’Homme and the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. Titles published under this arrangement may appear in any European language or, in the case of volumes of collected essays, in several languages. New books will appear either as individual titles or in one of the series which the Maison des Sciences de 1’Homme and the Cambridge University Press have jointly agreed to publish. All books published jointly by the Maison des Sciences de 1’Homme and the Cambridge University Press will be distributed by the Press throughout the world. Cet ouvrage est publié dans le cadre de l’accord de co-édition passé en 1977 entre la Fondation de la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme et le Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. Toutes les langues européennes sont admises pour les titres couverts par cet accord, et les ouvrages collectifs peuvent paraître en plusieurs langues. Les ouvrages paraissent soit isolément, soit dans l’une des séries que la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme et Cambridge University Press ont convenu de publier ensemble. La distribution dans le monde entier des titres ainsi publiés conjointement par les deux établissements est assurée par Cambridge University Press. This book is also part of the Cambridge History of Modern France, a multi­ volume textbook series on the history of France from 1815 to the present day, co-published with the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme. Each volume is a translation of a title or titles from the series ‘Nouvelle histoire de la France contemporaine’ which has been in the course of publication by Editions du Seuil, Paris, since 1972. Authors are either historians at the top of their profession, but actively writing works of research, or younger scholars keenly involved with the topics concerned. Each shows a clear awareness of work currently being undertaken in the field, in English as well as in French. The series as a whole forms a comprehensive, coherent and up-to-date history of France since 1815. For a list of titles in the series, please see end of book The Pompidou Years, 1969-1974 SERGE BERSTEIN Professor of History, Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris and JEAN-PIERRE RIOUX Director of Research, Institut d’Histoire du Temps Présent, Paris Translated by CHRISTOPHER WOODALL Cambridge UNIVERSITY PRESS EDITIONS DE LA MAISON DES SCIENCES DE L’HOMME Paris PUBLISHED BY THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK http://www.cup.cam.ac.uk 40 West 20th Street, New York NY 10011 -4211, USA http://www.cup.org 10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia and Editions de la Maison des Sciences de 1’Homme 54 Boulevard Raspail, 75270 Paris Cedex 06, France Originally published in French as La France de l'expansion, 2: L'apogée Pompidou 1969-1974 by Editions du Seuil 1995 and © Editions du Seuil. First published in England by Editions de la Maison des Sciences de 1’Homme and Cambridge University Press 2000 as The Pompidou Years, 1969-1974 English translation © Maison des Sciences de I’Homme and Cambridge University Press 2000 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2000 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge Typeset in 10/12pt Plantin [ce] A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress cataloguing in publication data Berstein, Serge. [Apogée Pompidou. English] The Pompidou Years, 1969-1974 / Serge Berstein and Jean-Pierre Rioux. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0 521 58061 7 (hardback) 1. Pompidou, Gèorges, 1911-1974. 2. France - Politics and government - 1969-1974. 3. Presidents - France - Biography. I. Rioux, Jean-Pierre, 1939- II. Title. DC421.B4713 2000 944.083'7'092-dc21 99-23268 CIP ISBN 0 521 58061 7 hardback ISBN 2 7351 0839 2 hardback (France only) The first part of this book was written by Serge Berstein and the second by Jean-Pierre Rioux. Contents List of illustrations page xi List of tables xii List of abbreviations xiii Chronological summary xvi 1 The republic of Georges Pompidou 1 1 Change and continuity 3 A decisive test for the Fifth Republic 3 The candidature of Georges Pompidou 5 Support from the right and ‘opening’ to the centre 6 The left in tatters 8 The candidature of Alain Poher 9 The 1969 election campaign 10 Georges Pompidou’s electoral victory 14 Georges Pompidou’s conception of government 16 The Chaban-Delmas government takes shape 19 2 The ‘New Society’, 1969-1971 22 Foreign policy: holding the line 22 The enlargement of the EEC 25 A buoyant economy amid danger signals 27 The economic policy of Georges Pompidou 29 The ‘New Society’ 33 Policies for social progress 36 A drive for political liberalization 39 Maintaining order and fighting the remnants of leftism 41 Policies crowned with success 44 3 The government in crisis, 1971-1972 48 Tensions at the heart of government 48 Tensions within the majority: the Gaullists 50 Tensions within the majority: the Independent Republicans 55 The ambiguities of centrism 57 ix X Contents The opposition: the Epinay congress and the foundation of the new Parti socialiste 60 The opposition: leftism and communism 62 The government runs out of steam and into scandals 64 The April 1972 referendum 66 The dismissal of Chaban-Delmas 68 4 Endgame, 1972-1974 70 The Messmer government 70 Preparing for the 1973 elections: the opposition 72 Preparing for the 1973 elections: the majority 74 The 1973 elections 76 A conservative crackdown 83 Discontent within the UDR and the issue of the presidential succession 85 The failure to introduce five-year presidential terms 87 A skipperless ship? 89 The death of Georges Pompidou 92 Conclusion to part 1 94 2 France under Georges Pompidou 99 5 The growth-rate society 101 The industrial imperative 102 The rise of the groupe central 111 Urban dynamism 121 The reprieve of rural France 133 6 The outbreak of prosperity 141 Rising incomes and widening disparities 142 Consumption takes off 149 Leisure and private life 159 The supply and demand of teaching 168 7 A splintered culture 180 The deconstruction of culture cultivée 180 The advent of mass culture 189 Fragmented beliefs and values 202 The emergence of a public culture 209 Conclusion to part 2 216 Notes 223 Bibliography 248 Index 260