Gaullism & anti-americanism
I start this post with some abstracts from Wikipedia. You can read the text I have highlight, or skip directly to the summary & annalysis at the end of the page.
From Wikipedia: "Gaullism (French: Gaullisme) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of Resistance leader (and later President) Charles de Gaulle.
Serge Berstein writes that Gaullism is "neither a doctrine nor a political ideology" and cannot be considered either left or right. Rather, "considering its historical progression, it is a pragmatic exercise of power that is neither free from contradictions nor of concessions to momentary necessity, even if the imperious word of the general gives to the practice of Gaullism the allure of a program that seems profound and fully realized." Gaullism is "a peculiarly French phenomenon, without doubt the quintessential French political phenomenon of the twentieth century."
"The "fundamental principle" of Gaullism is a "certain idea of France" as a strong state. This idea appears in de Gaulle's War Memoirs, in which he describes France as "an indomitable entity, a 'person' with whom a mystical dialogue was maintained throughout history. The goal of Gaullism, therefore, is to give precedence to its interests, to ensure that the voice is heard, to make it respected, and to assure its survival … to remain worthy of its past, the nation must endow itself with a powerful state."
"Kritzman writes that "the Gaullist idea of France set out to restore the honor of the nation and affirm its grandeur and independence" with de Gaulle seeking to "construct a messianic vision of France's historic destiny, reaffirm its prestige in the world, and transcend the national humiliations of the past. Accordingly, de Gaulle urged French unity over divisive "partisan quarrels" and emphasized French heritage, including both the Ancien Régime and the Revolution."
"In order to strengthen France, Gaullists also emphasize the need for "a strong economy and a stable society." Berstein writes that Gaullists belief that " it is the imperative of the state, as guardian of the national interest, to give impetus to economic growth and to guide it. Liberal opinions is accepted if it promises more efficiency than planning. As for social justice, so long as its natural distrust of big business can be allayed, it is less a matter of doctrine than a means of upholding stability. To put an end to class struggle, Gaullists hope to make use of participation, a nineteenth-century concept of which the general spoke frequently, but which he allowed his associated to ignore."
"As part of a strong state, de Gaulle emphasized the need to base state institutions on a strong executive. This was a departure from the French republican tradition, which emphasized the role of the elected assembly. De Gaulle, during his time in office, sought to establish authority by holding direct universal votes and popular referenda and by directly engaging with the nation (via speeches broadcast over radio, press conferences, and trips to the provinces). While de Gaulle frequently spoke on his respect fordemocracy, his political opponents perceived his rule as showing a tendency toward dictatorial power; many feared a Bonapartist revival or a republican monarchy. France remained a democracy, however, and de Gaulle's decision to step down as president following voters' rejection of the April 1969 constitutional referendum showed that de Gaulle's commitment to democracy was not merely a rhetorical ploy."
"On foreign policy, Gaullists are identified with both realism and French exceptionalism, and de Gaulle sought to impose French influence on the global order. Gaullists supported decolonization, which freed France from the burden of empire. This was reflected in de Gaulle's resolution of the Algeria crisis (1958–62), which was strongly influenced by de Gaulle's realpolitik, or "keen sense of political expediency." De Gaulle realized that decolonization was inevitable, and that a continued crisis and extended Algerian War would harm the French economy and perpetuate national disunity.Accordingly, "de Gaulle felt that it was in France's best interests to grant independence and desist from military engagement," thereby preserving French unity and grandeur."
"Gaullists emphasize the need for France to "guarantee its national independence without resorting to allies whose interests might not coincide with those of France." The development of independent French nuclear capability, undertaken at significant effort despite much international criticism, was an outgrowth of this worldview. France under de Gaulle sought to avoid a post-World War II bipolar global political order dominated by the two superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union, and sought to avoid dependence of the United States. Kritzman writes: "Gaullist foreign policy was motivated by its need to distinguish itself from … the two great superpowers. Paradoxically, [de Gaulle] desired to be part of the Western alliance and be critical of it at the same time on key issues such as defense." Most notably, de Gaulle withdrew France from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military operations in 1966, and directed non-French NATO troops to leave France, although France remained a NATO member. Gaullists were also critical of the overseas economic influence of the U.S. and the role of the U.S. dollar in the international monetary system. Under de Gaulle, France established diplomatic relations with China earlier than any other Western nation; imposed an arms embargo against Israel (1967); and denounced American imperialism in the Third World."
"De Gaulle and the Gaullists did not support Europe as a supranational entity, but did favor European integration in the form of "a confederation of sovereign states mutually engaged in "common policy, autonomous from the superpowers," and significantly influenced by France. De Gaulle's hopes to advance this sort of union largely failed, however, "in the face of the desire of the other European powers to remain closely allied to the United States."
Charles de Gaulles : "He was a French general, resistant, writer and statesman. He was the leader of Free France (1940–44) and the head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic (1944–46). In 1958, he founded the Fifth Republic and was elected as the 18th President of France, until his resignation in 1969. He was the dominant figure of France during the Cold War era and his memory continues to influence French politics."
"Economically, he pursued a dirigist policy, which included substantial state-directed control over a capitalist economy."
"In the context of the Cold War, de Gaulle initiated his "Politics of Grandeur", asserting that France as a major power should not rely on other countries, such as the United States, for its national security and prosperity. To this end, de Gaulle pursued a policy of "national independence" which led him to withdraw from NATO's military integrated command and to launch an independent nuclear development program that made France the fourth nuclear power. He restored cordial Franco-German relations in order to create a European counterweight between the "Anglo-Saxon" (American and British) and Soviet spheres of influence. However, he opposed any development of a supranational Europe, favouring a Europe of sovereign Nations and vetoed twice Britain's entry into the European Community. De Gaulle openly criticised the U.S. intervention in Vietnam and the "exorbitant privilege" of the U.S. dollar, and supported an independent Quebec."
"His War Memoirs, written in the 1950s, quickly became a classic of modern French literature. Many French political parties and figures claim the gaullist legacy."
"The father (of Charles de Gaule) inculcated in the son a profound belief in the glory of traditional Catholic France."
"De Gaulle spent four years studying and training at the elite military academy, Saint-Cyr. (...) He did well at the academy and received praise for his conduct, manners, intelligence, character, military spirit and resistance to fatigue. However, he often quarrelled with his company commander and other officers that there was a lack of preparation for war with Germany, and that the French training and equipment were inadequate to deal with a numerically superior adversary."
"De Gaulle's unit gained recognition for repeatedly crawling out into No mans land to listen to the conversations of the enemy in their trenches, and the information he brought back was so valuable that in January 1915 he received a citation for his bravery."
"After the armistice, de Gaulle continued to serve in the army, and was with the staff of the French Military Mission to Poland as an instructor of Poland's infantry during its war with Communist Russia (1919–1921). He distinguished himself in operations near the River Zbrucz and won Poland's highest military decoration, the Virtuti Militari cross. He returned to France, where he taught at the École Militaire."
"In 1934 he wrote Vers l'Armée de Métier (Toward a Professional Army), which advocated a professional army based on mobile armored divisions. Such an army would both compensate for the poor French demography, and be an efficient tool to enforce international law, particularly the Treaty of Versailles, which forbade Germany from rearming."
"On 5 June (1940), Prime Minister Paul Reynaud appointed him Under Secretary of State for National Defence and War and put him in charge of coordination with the British forces. As a junior member of the French government, he unsuccessfully opposed surrender, advocating instead that the government remove itself to North Africa and carry on the war as best it could from France's African colonies."
"Returning to Bordeaux, the temporary wartime capital, de Gaulle learned that Marshal Pétain had become prime minister and was planning to seek an armistice with Nazi Germany. De Gaulle and other officers rebelled against the new French government; on the morning of 17 June, de Gaulle and a few senior French officers flew to Britain with 100,000 gold francs in secret funds provided to him by the ex-prime minister Paul Reynaud."
"De Gaulle strongly denounced the French government's decision to seek armistice with Germany and set about building the Free French Forces from the soldiers and officers deployed outside France or who had fled France with him. On 18 June, de Gaulle delivered a radio address via the BBC Radio service; the talk was authorised by Churchill."
"De Gaulle's Appeal of 18 June exhorted the French people not to be demoralised and to continue to resist the occupation of France and work against the collaborationist Vichy regime, which had signed an armistice with Germany. Although the original broadcast could only be heard in a few parts of occupied France, de Gaulle's subsequent speeches reached many parts of the territories under the Vichy regime, helping to rally the French resistance movement and earning him much popularity amongst the French people and soldiers. At a court-martial by Vichy, on 2 August 1940, de Gaulle was condemned to death for treason."
"He organised the Free French Forces and the Allies gave increasing support and recognition to de Gaulle's efforts. In London in September 1941 de Gaulle formed the free French National Council, with himself as president. It was an all-encompassing coalition of resistance forces, ranging from conservative Catholics like himself to Communists. By early 1942, the "Fighting French" movement, as it was now called, gained rapidly in power and influence; it overcame Vichy in Syria and Lebanon, adding to its base. Dealing with the French Communists was a delicate issue, for they were under Moscow's control and the USSR was friendly with Germany in 1940–41. They came into the Free French movement only when Germany invaded Russia in June 1941. De Gaulle's policy then became one of friendship directly with Moscow, but Stalin showed little interest. In 1942, de Gaulle created the Normandie-Niemen squadroon, a Free French Air Force regiment, in order to fight on the Eastern Front. It is the only Western allied formation to have fought until the end of the war in the East."
"In his dealings with the British and Americans (both referred to as the "Anglo-Saxons", in de Gaulle's parlance), he always insisted on retaining full freedom of action on behalf of France and was constantly on the verge of being unsupported by the Allies. Many denials of the deep and mutual antipathy between de Gaulle and British and American political leaders are on historical record. De Gaulle explained his position:
"Never the Anglo-Saxons really treated us as real allies. They never consulted us, government to government, on any of their provisions. For political purpose or by convenience, they sought to use the French forces for their own goals, as if these forces belonged to them, alleging that they had provided weapons to them [...] I considered that I had to play the French game, since the others were playing theirs ... I deliberately adopted a stiffened and hardened attitude ...".
"In addition, De Gaulle harboured a suspicion of the British in particular, believing that they were seeking to seize France's colonial possessions in the Levant. Winston Churchill was often frustrated at what he perceived as de Gaulle's patriotic arrogance, but also wrote of his "immense admiration" for him during the early days of his British exile. Although their relationship later became strained, Churchill tried to explain the reasons for de Gaulle's behaviour in the second volume of his history of World War II:
"He felt it was essential to his position before the French people that he should maintain a proud and haughty demeanour towards "perfidious Albion", although in exile, dependent upon our protection and dwelling in our midst. He had to be rude to the British to prove to French eyes that he was not a British puppet. He certainly carried out this policy with perseverance".
"De Gaulle epitomised his adversarial relationship with Churchill in these words: "When I am right, I get angry. Churchill gets angry when he is wrong. We are angry at each other much of the time."
"After his initial support, Churchill, emboldened by Washington's antipathy to the French general, urged his War Cabinet to remove de Gaulle as leader of the French resistance. But the War Cabinet warned Churchill that a precipitate break with de Gaulle would have a disastrous reaction on the whole resistance movement. By autumn 1943, Churchill had to acknowledge that de Gaulle had won the struggle for leadership of Free France."
"De Gaulle's relations with Washington were even more strained, Roosevelt for a long time refused to recognise de Gaulle as the representative of France, preferring to deal with representatives of the Vichy government. Roosevelt in particular hoped that it would be possible to wean Pétain away from Germany. President Roosevelt maintained recognition of the Vichy regime until late 1942, and saw de Gaulle as an impudent representative of a minority interest. After 1942, Roosevelt championed general Henri Giraud, more compliant with U.S. interests than de Gaulle, as the leader of the French Resistance. At the Casablanca Conference (1943), Roosevelt forced de Gaulle to cooperate with Giraud, but de Gaulle was considered as the undisputed leader of the Resistance by the French people and Giraud was progressively deprived of his political and military roles. British and Soviet Allies urged Roosevelt to recognise de Gaulle's provisional government, but Roosevelt delayed it as long as possible and even recognised the Italian provisional government before the French one. British and Soviet allies were outraged that the U.S. president unilaterally recognised the new government of a former enemy before de Gaulle's one and both recognised the French government in retaliation, forcing Roosevelt to recognise de Gaulle in late 1944, but Roosevelt managed to blackball him from the Yalta Conference. Later, Roosevelt finally renounced to rule France as an occupied territory and to transfer French Indochina to the United Nations."
"On April 21, 1943, de Gaulle was scheduled to fly in a Wellington bomber to Scotland to inspect the Free French navy. On take-off, the bomber's tail dropped, and the plane nearly crashed into the airfield's embankment. Only the skill of the pilot saved them. On inspection, it was found that aeroplane's separator rod had been sabotaged, using acid. Britain's MI6 investigated the incident, but no one was ever apprehended. De Gaulle blamed the Western Allies, and later told colleagues that he no longer had confidence in them."
"Working with the French Resistance and other supporters in France's colonial African possessions after the Anglo-U.S. invasion of North Africa in November 1942, de Gaulle moved his headquarters to Algiers in May 1943. He left Britain to be on French territory."
"De Gaulle was held in high regard by Allied commander General Dwight Eisenhower. In Algiers in 1943, Eisenhower gave de Gaulle the assurance in person that a French force would liberate Paris and arranged that the army division of French General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque would be transferred from North Africa to the UK to carry out that liberation. Eisenhower was impressed by the combativeness of units of the Free French Forces and "grateful for the part they had played in mopping up the remnants of German resistance"; he also detected how strongly devoted many were to de Gaulle and how ready they were to accept him as the national leader."
"As preparations for the liberation of Europe gathered pace, the Americans in particular found de Gaulle's tendency to view everything from the French perspective to be extremely tiresome. Roosevelt, who refused to recognise any provisional authority in France until elections had been held, considered de Gaulle to be a potential dictator, a view backed by a number of leading Frenchmen in Washington, including Jean Monnet, who later became an instrumental figure in the setting up of the European Coal and Steel Community that led to the modern European Union."
"Upon his arrival at RAF Northolt on 4 June 1944 he received an official welcome, and a letter reading "My dear general! Welcome to these shores, very great military events are about to take place!" Later, on his personal train, Churchill informed him that he wanted him to make a radio address, but when informed that the Americans continued to refuse to recognise his right to power in France, and after Churchill suggested he request a meeting with Roosevelt to improve his relationship with the president, de Gaulle became angry, demanding to know why he should "lodge my candidacy for power in France with Roosevelt; the French government exists."
"De Gaulle was concerned at a general breakdown of civil order and of a potential communist takeover in the vacuum which might follow a German withdrawal from France. During the general conversation which followed with those present, de Gaulle was involved in an angry exchange with the Labour minister, Ernest Bevin, and, raising his concerns about the validity of the new currency to be circulated by the Allies after the liberation, de Gaulle commented scornfully, "go and wage war with your false money". De Gaulle was much concerned that an American takeover of the French administration would just provoke a communist uprising."
"Churchill then also lost his temper, saying that Britain could not act separately from America, and that under the circumstances, if they had to choose between France and the U.S., Britain would always choose the latter. De Gaulle replied that he realised that this would always be the case. The next day, de Gaulle refused to address the French nation because the script again made no mention of his being the legitimate interim ruler of France. It instructed the French people to obey Allied military authorities until elections could be held, and so the row continued, with de Gaulle calling Churchill a "gangster". Churchill in turn accused the general of treason in the height of battle, and demanded he be flown back to Algiers "in chains if necessary".
"De Gaulle and Churchill had a complex relationship during the wartime period. De Gaulle did show respect and admiration for Churchill, and even some light humorous interactions between the two have been noted by observers such as Alfred Duff Cooper, the British Ambassador to the French Committee of Liberation. Churchill explained his support for De Gaulle during the darkest hours, calling him “L’homme du destin". In Casablanca in 1943, Churchill supported de Gaulle as the embodiment of a French Army that was otherwise defeated, stating that "De Gaulle is the spirit of that Army. Perhaps the last survivor of a warrior race." Churchill also supported de Gaulle because he was one of the first major French leaders to reject Nazi German rule outright, stating in August 1944 that "I have never forgotten, and can never forget, that he [de Gaulle] stood forth as the first eminent Frenchman to face the common foe in what seemed to be the hour of ruin of his country and possibly, of ours."
"De Gaulle ignored the Anglo-Saxons, and proclaimed the authority of Free France over the metropolitan territory the next day. Under the leadership of General de Lattre de Tassigny, France fielded an entire army – a joint force of Free French together with French colonial troops from North Africa – on the Western Front. Initially landing as part of Operation Dragoon, in the south of France, the French First Army helped to liberate almost one third of the country and participated in the invasion and occupation of Germany. As the invasion slowly progressed and the Germans were pushed back, de Gaulle made preparations to return to France. On 14 June 1944 he left Britain for France for what was supposed to be a one-day trip."
"Finally he arrived at the city of Bayeux, which he now proclaimed as the capital of Free France. Appointing his Aide-de-Camp Francois Coulet as head of the civil administration, de Gaulle returned to the UK that same night on a French destroyer, and although the official position of the supreme military command remained unchanged, local Allied officers found it more practical to deal with the fledgling administration in Bayeux in everyday matters. De Gaulle flew to Algiers on 16 June and then went on to Rome to meet the Pope and the new Italian government. At the beginning of July he at last visited Roosevelt in Washington, where he received the 17 gun salute of a senior military leader rather than the 21 guns of a visiting head of state. The visit was 'devoid of trust on both sides' according to the French representative, however Roosevelt did make some concessions towards recognising the legitimacy of the Bayeux administration."
"Meanwhile, with the Germans retreating in the face of the Allied onslaught, harried all the way by the resistance, there were widespread instances of revenge attacks on those accused of collaboration. A number of prominent officials and members of the feared Milice were murdered, often by exceptionally brutal means, provoking the Germans into appalling reprisals, such as in the destruction of the village of Oradour-sur-Glane and the killing of its 642 inhabitants. Of little strategic value, Paris was initially not high on the list of Allied objectives, but both de Gaulle and the commander of the 2nd Armoured Division, General Philippe Leclerc were concerned that a possible communist attempt to take over the capital would plunge France into civil war. De Gaulle successfully lobbied for Paris to be made a priority for liberation on humanitarian grounds and obtained from Allied Supreme Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower an agreement that French troops would be allowed to enter the capital first."
"It was fortunate for de Gaulle that the Germans had forcibly removed members of the Vichy government and taken them to Germany a few days earlier on 20 August; it allowed him to enter Paris as a liberator in the midst of the general euphoria, but there were serious concerns that communist elements of the resistance, which had done so much to clear the way for the military would try to seize the opportunity to proclaim their own 'Peoples' Government' in the capital. De Gaulle made contact with Leclerc and demanded the presence of the 2nd Armoured Division to accompany him on a massed parade down the Champs Elysees, "as much for prestige as for security". This was in spite of the fact that Leclerc's unit was fighting as part of the American 1st Army and were under strict orders to continue their next objective without obeying orders from anyone else. In the event, the American General Omar Bradley decided that Leclerc's division would be indispensable for the maintenance of order and the liquidation of the last pockets of resistance in the French capital. Earlier, on 21 August, de Gaulle had appointed his military advisor General Marie-Pierre Koenig as Governor of Paris."
"As his procession came along the Place de la Concorde on Saturday 26 August, it came under machine gun fire by Vichy militia and fifth columnists who were unable to give themselves up. Later, on entering the Notre Dame cathedral to be received as head of the provisional government by the Committee of Liberation, loud shots broke out again, and Leclerc and Koenig tried to hustle him through the door, but de Gaulle shook off their hands and never faltered. While the battle began outside, he walked slowly down the aisle. Before he had gone far a machine pistol fired down from above, at least two more joined in, and from below the F.F.I. and police fired back. A BBC correspondent who was present reported :
"... the General is being presented to the people. He is being received…they have opened fire! ... firing started all over the place ... that was one of the most dramatic scenes I have ever seen. ... General de Gaulle walked straight ahead into what appeared to me to be a hail of fire ... but he went straight ahead without hesitation, his shoulders flung back, and walked right down the centre aisle, even while the bullets were pouring about him. It was the most extraordinary example of courage I have ever seen ... there were bangs, flashes all about him, yet he seemed to have an absolutely charmed life."
"Later, in the great hall of the Hôtel de Ville, de Gaulle was greeted by a jubilant crowd and, proclaiming the continuity of the Third Republic, delivered a famous proclamation:
"Paris! Paris outraged, Paris broken, Paris martyred, but Paris liberated! Liberated by itself, liberated by its people with the assistance of the armies of France, with the support and assistance of the whole of France! ... The enemy is faltering but he is not yet beaten. He is still on our soil. It will not suffice that we, with the assistance of our dear and admirable allies, will have chased him from our home in order to be satisfied after what has happened. We want to enter his territory, as is fitting, as conquerors. ... It is for this revenge, this vengeance and this justice, that we will continue to fight until the last day, until the day of the total and complete victory."
"That night the Germans launched a massive artillery and air bombardment on Paris by way of revenge, killing over a thousand people and wounding several thousand others. The situation in Paris remained tense, and a few days later de Gaulle, still unsure of the trend of events asked General Eisenhower to send some American troops into Paris as a show of strength. This he did 'not without some satisfaction', and so on 29 August, the U.S. 28th Infantry Division was rerouted from its journey to the front line and paraded down the Champs Elysees. The same day, Washington and London agreed to accept the position of the Free French. The following day General Eisenhower gave his de facto blessing with a visit to the General in Paris."
"An Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories (AMGOT) should have been implemented in France, but Charles de Gaulle opposed vehemently against the enforcement of this foreign controlled government. De Gaulle founded the Provisional Government of the French Republic (GPRF) in June 1944 in order to prepare the ground for a new constitutional order, that resulted in the Fourth Republic, and to avoid allied military administration. The legitimacy of the GRPF was only recognized on 23 October 1944 by Franklin D. Roosevelt."
SUMMARY & ANNALYSIS
When the Fourth French Republic was installed, the national assembly had two main colors, red and blue. Among the red, the communists and the socialists. Among the blue, the Bonapartists and the Orleans Monarchy. Gaullism was on both sides, represented by the French resistance.
When Germany invaded France, the French Army was the only resistance. The weakness of the French Army has lost the French Territory. Half of France was taken with military means. The other half was taken with political means by the Vichy government.
The General de Gaulle organized the resistance from outside of France, Britain and North Africa mainly. From military, the resistance became undercover, hidden and secret. This was not an army any more, but an organization of information and sabotage made mainly of civilians. The Resistance could not fight the German army with conventional military means, but it could undermine the organization of the German occupation . Military and civilians were both involved in the Resistance, but without the military support of the Allies, the Resistance would not have won the war.
On June 22, 1940, most French people had surrendered to Germany. Most of them were neither German, neither French anymore. No freedom, the fear everywhere, and the military administration broke the identity in peace. The Resistance organized its own administration inside the breaches of Germany, but the Resistance had no power. They could save some lives, they gave some others, and they could disturb the German occupation. It never became a real threat to the German occupation before the D-Day. As said Churchill, de Gaulle was the spirit of an army that had been defeated, "perhaps the last survivor of a warrior race".
Gaullism became an identity to the people who had lost their own. They were not German, France was only the name of a territory. The General de Gaulle became the face of the government, kind of monarch, kind of emperor, kind of General. The people trusted and followed him because he was stubborn, French above all. The General did not pretend to be a politic or to have a politic until the roots of the politic did not grow on the Fourth Republic. He became the kind of tree that people worship. They gave a name to the tree, and they made it Gaullism.
The French revolution made one Republic, then a second republic and before WWII, it was the third one. The General de Gaulle made the Fourth Republic, and France is living now under the Fifth Republique. They make republics like other countries make Monarchs, one after another. The idea of a French politic is unclear because the social roots are different from one social condition to another. There are roughly four social conditions in France, Aristocracy, Bourgeoisie, Middle Class, and Proletariat.
The French Aristocracy made the kings, the court and the many links between the aristocrat families. They use lineage as a political mean of government. They marry each other and they get advantages from family links. Children inherit from the power of the parents. The power is made of lands, people living on the lands, castles, houses, business positions and social network. They usually use their international networks to empower themselves on the French territory. The French revolution empowered the Aristocracy with international networks.
The Bourgeoisie is made of non Aristocrat people who usually became wealthy with their business, shops, factories, ships, knowledge, banks. They can be native French, they can be migrants, they are all kind of rich people. Although Aristocrats are mainly Catholics, the Bourgeoisie has no particular religion. They can be Catholics, Jews, Muslim or agnostics. Usually, the Aristocracy belongs to the blue right side of the politics, while Bourgeoisie belongs to the red left side of the Politics. In Paris, the only middle of this separation is the river Seine, neutral and you have to take the bridges to go from one side to another. Eventually, you have to pay to cross the bridges.
Middle Class people are mainly the small businesses, farmers, artisans, shopkeepers, but also the workers in other people companies. They are not poor, but they are not too wealthy either. Anytime a year is no bad, no good, they live with the fears to fall and they don't dare to have much hope. They are the people who talk of the weather all the time, they don't dare to have ideas. They are the occupied France even since Germany has left the French territory. They try to live each day after another, they are no happy, no sad. They live on self-contempt but some of them are wealthy. The wealthy ones are not rich enough to belong to the Bourgeoisie and they don't want to belong to the other Middle Classes.
The Proletariat are the poor workers, usually people from the countryside who moved to the city without any family city background. They are self made people, living in close communities of workers where their friends become their own citizenship. They are usually poorly educated and they don't have any special job. They are a workforce of people who could do quite anything with governance and directions.
The immigration usually pertains to the Proletariat classes. The migration gave them a particular social status which has been enlarged with political means. Housing programs, the politics on women conditions, programs in schools, activities and association. The "integration" and "disintegration" process created a new proletariat class made exclusively of Muslim people. While most migrant from Spain, Italy, Portugal proudly worked hard to become French Middle Classes, the Muslim people have gave up trying to integrate themselves. The politics are one of the many reasons why the religion became a social class. Because they are poor, they remain anyway among the proletariat classes.
We could compare the social classes to ethnics, but among those different ethnics, some of them want to become stronger, and some of them want to change class. Middle Class would like to belong to the Bourgeoisie while Bourgeoisie does not want to belong to the Proletariat. The communication media makes the magic to operate when the Bourgeoisie seem to be of the same class than the others. Only the Aristocratie leave them different.
The politics play with the cards of ethnics, and Gaullism was like the jackpot, a full straight of social cards. The General de Gaulle did not have real politics, he had a personality. Anti-Americanism became the cement of this personality probably because he was an Aristocrat and because he was also a Bonapartist. When he talked about the Anglo-Saxons, he was pointing out his own contrary, not to say his enemy.
The tree of Gaullism has grown very fast. After the defeat of General de Gaulle, in 1969, Pompidou, then Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, then Mitterrand, then Jacques Chirac were all the branches of the Gaullism tree, but Jacques Chirac made his own path. He was a communist, he married an Aristocrat and he became a Republican. The people used to call him a wolf, some say an upstart, other say a bulldozer. He was all that at once. Communists are anti-American, Aristocrats are mainly anti-American and you cannot build anything with a bulldozer. You can only destroy or carry heavy task. You don't build, you don't run and if you change the world with a bulldozer, it's only by chaos.
The Resistance has brought new rules of war, new tactics, and a new administration of the underground leadership. It brought also the experience from 1940 to 1945 that made a vocational experienced people living inside the main classes. When making his own government after the end of the war, the General de Gaulle did not really gave up with the opportunity of power, and he did not let the different classes to give up the conflicts.
While the German army was leaving France, the classes struggled inside the Fourth Republic, and the Resistance lasted long time after the end of the war. The resistance became politic and was still underground. Paris and the big cities of France, and even the countryside, the people have kept the spirit of the war, paying with the fears, the willing to fight and play underground. This is now a very peculiar French culture that probably find its roots inside the Catholic culture (see the post "A City in the City").The General de Gaulle made a Catholic habit become a custom.
The French territories were the other France of General de Gaulle, all territories of Africa. Also the African territories became later independent, the quick evolution of the industry that was brought with the two wars did maintain an administration of France in Africa. This administration was no more governed by a state, but with a political network. No structure, no name, to architecture of any kind of administration. The Resistance entered the "secret" era of political and business underground.
Accordingly to my own analysis of Gaullism, the state is a politic that won a territory, it is not an administration to administrate. The politic comes with its own army of underground secret network.
France is said to be a democracy because the people can choose the President, and the word of democracy is a concept that favor the politics. In a video about the "New World Order", Aaron Russo said ( minute 16:08 of the video) :
"The American people are living in a Matrix. (...) If you ask a 100 people in the street what kind of people they are supposed to be, 99% of them will tell you a democracy. America is supposed to be a democracy. But that's a lie, that's an illusion. The word democracy is not written in the Constitution one time, its not in the Bill of Rights, it's not in the Declaration of Independence. The founding fathers hated the idea of a democracy, they thought it was the worst form of government there is, and I agree with them because in a democracy, 51% of the people control 49% of the people. If you are part of the 49%, you are not free.
America is founded as a Constitution Republic and in that constitution Republic that we have, 99% of the people can't take with the rights of 1%. You have your rights because you were born with them, you have God given, you have Human Rights. Nobody can take it away from you, the government, the majority, nobody who they are. I can't take away your rights and that's what our founding fathers gave us, but the psychological operation that they do to us, they make us believe that we are a democracy and the majority rules, you see, and they want you to believe that, this many want this, this many want that and this even do with anything. Hitler was elected, Hitler made the things legally.
With a Constitution Republic, the minority is protected from the majority. Benjamin Franklin said:
" Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
The General de Gaulle probably never thought of making Gaullism, but he had political ideas and interests. When the government did not meet his interests, he left. Jacques Foquard, the Man of Africa (see the post "The apparatus of crime - Part 1") made Gaullism to deserve the interests of the French people living outside of France, in Africa mainly. Gaullism, in the hands of Valery Giscard d'Estaing and Jacques Chirac extended its underground to the Middle East, on the belief that to be independent from the Anglo-Saxons, France had to rule North Africa. Islam has become a tool as it was before in the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte, a juridical and social tool of power. Islam was the key to convert the people to the politic of Gaullism. Anti-americanism has become the fuel to win on the economy, the identity and the faith. François Holland is the heir of Jacques Chirac.
