Isolating De Gaulle
Whether that pressure will be successful is another matter. President de Gaulle is habitually unresponsive to such gestures. He starts from the principle that nothing can be done without France, and that, therefore, he has only to wait and see, until his opponents come to him to demand terms. In his resistance to President Kennedy's concept of Europe as a step towards the Atlantic community, however, he has his weak points.
The first of these is the internal political situa- tion in France. The withdrawal of the MRP mini- sters from M. Pompidou's Government has shown that the European issue can have serious reper- cussions on French political alignments, and this has now been followed by a call from the Inde- pendents for their ministers to resign too. This they will almost certainly not do—they are not Independents for nothing—but the new develop- ment suggests that some of those who oppose President de Gaulle's Algerian policy may now have turned their attention to the European issue as a more hopeful terrain on which to combat him.
The second factor which may moderate France's attitude is the opinion of its associates in the Common Market. As was shown during the recent round of negotiations in Brussels, it is difficult for French diplomacy to stand out against the other five when they are united in opposition to its views. The vital role is played by Germany—it has usually been German sup- port that has enabled France to carry the rest of the Six with it—and in the final analysis Ger- many will not be willing to follow Paris against American wishes.
President de Gaulle's position is not without its weaknesses, and it seems unlikely that these can be supplied by will-power alone. Despite his speeches during his tour of Central France, he might think that the best course which he can pursue would be to reach agreement with Mr. Macmillan when the latter visits him at the end of next week. If so, he would have made France's stance on the, international stage less solitary, appeased President Kennedy, and strengthened Europe. If not, he may find that splendid isolation carries with it the penalty of an inability to affect events.
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