Evening star., 1954-11-21
PorhGtm ~
Typical French Communist Deputy Man Who Can Follow Orders

there is usually a mass meeting Of
the local federation to which the re-
turning deputy makes his report on
the weeks developments and the
part he has played.
While in town, he lives nodestly.
Although the pay Of a deputy Is
about $440 month, M Dupont. like
all Of his Communist colleagues,
donates" all but about 500 of the
total to the party treasury. In re-
turn, he receives a monthly stipend
OF 5000 francs about $l5-for his
lodging.
Like most of his fellows, M. Du-
pont has no private Office. His work.
ing days are spent in the huge
Greek temple facing the Place de la
Concorde which houses the Parlia-
ment. He gets his mail at the As
sembly post Office and answers it by
hand. sitting at one of the round
tables in the conference room.
Here he meets with the party
leaders in pre-Session huddles where
strategy for the coming debate is
explained and the parts are assigned.
Being q relatively junior member
of the team OF IS deputies, M. Du-
points role is not conspicuous one.
He is rarely called on to speak. The
job Of carrying the parliamentary
ball is left to the select few.
No Policy Decisions
He has even less to say about
policy. Like all Communists. Pierre
Dupont accepts the fiction of the
Party's leadership: The hierarchy
made up of a 42-man Central Com
mlttee, 10-man "Politburo" and
at the top a five-man Secretariat
headed by Maurice Thorez, secretary
general of the French Communist
Party, and Jacques Duclos, president
of the parliamentary group.
But perhaps more than the aver
age Communist voter, M. Dupont also
accepts the reality: That the only
real leadership comes from Thorez
and Duclos and that their authority
stems directly from the Kremlin.
Although many Frenchmen may
still cherish the illusion Of an inde-
pendent Communist Party dedicated
to national goals, it has long been
clear to those on the inside that
from top to bottom the party's policy
wears MADE in Moscow" label.
Even so, there is no question that
the Communist Party is the most
closely knit and thoroughly disci-
plined political organization in
France. At any important sessions of
the Assembly, every one of the Com
munist deputies are In their places
behind the small desks at the ex-
treme left-hand end of the semi
circular chamber.
While other parties have the floor,
NJ. Dupont and his colleagues put on
an elaborate show of inattention-
writing letters. talking, or leafing
through the Party newspaper
'Rumanite".
A sharp eye is kept on the leaders
in the front bench. If a speaker
should happen to say the right thing,
the whole Communist section, as one
man. bursts into applause. If M.
Thorez or M. Duclos laughs, 95 guf-
flaws sound the echo. If they whistle,
boo. or bang their wooden desk tops
in protest. the din becomes deafen-.
ing, Demonstrations, however, are
reserved for special occasions. r..
It is only at the end of the de-
bate, when the elegantly dressed
attendants pass around with the
voting urns. that the full weight OF
the Communist Party is brought to
bear. Needless to say, there is never
any reason to count the Communist
ballots individually.
A similar austere discipline applies
to Communist members on the COM
mission, the Assembly groups which