Evening star., 1951-06-18
Midd|e-of-Road
Bloc Will Rule
Paris Assembly
Reds Popular Vote
Largest; De GouIIe
Leeds Single Parties
By the Assoeiofed Press

PARIS. June 18.-Gen. Charles
de Gaulle's new party appeared on
the way today to being the
strongest single political unit in
Frances new National Assembly ),
but the middle-of- -the-road coali-
tion seemed to be retaining con-
troll of the next Parliament.
With nine-tenths of the assem-
bly, seats decided in yesterdays
national elections. Gen. de Gaulle's
Rally of the French People (RPFD
had won lot and had run up an
impressive total of 3,137,599 votes
of the Is million counted up to
noon in unofficial tabulations.
In terms of popular vote the
Communists still were out in front,
but the Red party was losing
many seats. At the three-quarter
mark the Communists had 96
seats and seemed on the way to
losing as many as so of the seats
they held IN the old Parliament.
But in popular vote the Commu-
nists were out in front as single
party, with 1914, ,729, or 25.76 per
cent of the Is million votes count
ed up to noon. This was little
behind their popular vote show
ing in the last election in 1916,
when their vote was 2S.6 per cent
of the total.
Short of Expectations.
Despite Gen. de Gaulle's strong
showing in this election, watched
throughout the world as one
aspect of the East-West war Of
ideas, his party did not appear to
be running up the total in Assem-
bly, seats which it had expected.
Gen. de Gaulle himself was not
q candidate.
The center parties whose coall-
ton ruled the nation since l946,
to the exclusion both of the De
Gaullists and the Communists,
had a better than even chance
of keeping that control in parlia-
ment in a similar combine.
With 100000 of the 20.000,-
900 votes cast yesterday-the total
eligible to vote was 24,600. 600
the unofficial returns showed (627
Assembly seats at stake):
The Communists had 96 seats
and 3,844,749 votes; the De Gaul-
lists, lot seats and 3,137,599 votes;
the Socialists, SO seats and 1885,
1862 votes; the MRP popular Re-
publicans) II seats and 1,8l8,839
votes: the Left Republicans, IS
seats and 1,565,236 votes; the lat
ter three parties, along with some
independents, make up the coali-
tion. The independent parties
and the Peasants Party had cor
nered about 100 seats at the three
quarter mark.
Radical Socialists Gain.
The Left Republicans include
one branch of the Radical
ist Party and the Democratic
Union, headed by former Premier
Rene Pleven. Mr.. Pleven's party
had five seats and the two Rad
ical-Socialist wings 80 between
them.
The Radical-Socialists, who are
right of center despite their name,
and the right wing Independent
Republican and Peasants Parties,
increased their delegations in the
Assembly. The left of center
Popular Republicans, who are
mostly Catholic, lost ground. The
Socialists, who are in the left in
the coalition government, had a
slight increase.
The coalition parties chalked up
a victory for their pro-American
pro-Atlantic pact policies. These
had been assailed by the Com
munists as part of a preparation
for attack on Russia. Gen de
Gaulle criticized the coalitions S
policies as subservient to the
United States.
The complex election system
made returns on the division of
seats in the new Assembly slow
(Sae FRANCE paoa hsA