Georges Pompidou

France has had many great, or to say the least, controversial presidents. De Gaulle, Mitterrand have both left their mark on France and world politics. Georges Pompidou on the other hand has largely been forgotten for two reasons: he was de Gaulle's successor and after five years in office he died from a terminal illness. Georges Pompidou himself claimed that de Gaulle's successor would be a "nobody" given the greatness and stature (in all senses of the word!) of the liberator of France: "aux yeux de l'histoire, le premier successeur du général de Gaulle passera pour un minable".

But does Pompidou deserve to be forgotten by today's generation of French youth? Should Pompidou not deserve more recognition for having been de Gaulle's Prime Minister? I believe so.

Born in on July 5th 1911 in a rural town in central France, Georges Pompidou was the son of Léon and Marie-Louise Chavagnac. Both his parents were teachers. He married Claude Cahour in 1935 and adopted a son in 1942. After studying literature he became a teacher in France's elite schools.

After the liberation of France he entered de Gaulle's cabinet, he was then asked to work in several ministries. From 1954 to 1958 he worked for the Rothschild bank but returned to political life when Charles de Gaulle returned to power in 1958.

On April 16th 1962 he was chosen by de Gaulle to become Prime-Minister of France but his first government was short-lived as parliament defeated him with a no confidence motion destined to oppose the President's plans to modify the fashion presidential elections were held. Up to 1962, the President was chosen by an Electoral College, de Gaulle decided to modify the constitution and have the President elected directly by the people. His referendum was successful and Georges Pompidou was again named Prime Minister.

Pompidou had the opportunity to govern France during a period of economic progress and modernisation but by 1968, things were about to change. As Pompidou was visiting Afghanistan, small student protests in Paris had grown beyond what the government could accept. De Gaulle tried a hard line with the students but before long full blow riots were rocking the Latin Quarter. Georges Pompidou was the only official who, behind closed doors, dared stand up to de Gaulle and begged for restraint. Pompidou even went as far as threatening to resign if de Gaulle had riot troops fire on students. Historians today believe this action may have saved France from plunging into a full-blown civil war. By May 30th, the parliament was dissolved and elections held the silent majority gave de Gaulle a large majority, but most insiders felt this election was recognition of Pompidou's popularity. By July 13th Pompidou had resigned and Maurice Couve de Murville was named in his place. At the end of 1968, a political smear campaign was organised to discredit Pompidou. De Gaulle knew about the dirty tricks some of his ministers had been up to, Georges Pompidou never forgave him.

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