Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-06-13
Challenging De GouIIe

Premier Charles de Gaulle now Is
engaged in the delicate task Of estab-
fishing his authority on a basis solid
enough to Withstand the challenges of
the extremists This Is classic prob
lem characteristic of all situations in
volving revolutionary changes in power,
and his success in dealing with it-or
his lack of success--will be of decisive
Importance to the internal stability and
peace of France.
At the moment the generals great
est single headache, wholly apart from
the continuing rebel warfare, seems to
be made up of rightist French elements
In Algeria who have played a key role
In his return to power, but who are now
dissatisfied with what they regard as
his oo-moderate course. They include
some army officers and civilian colonists.
They have attempted, under the leader
ship of firebrands like Jacques Soustelle
and through their so-called Committee
of Public Safety, to pressure the new
Premier into a drastic revision of his
cabinet. In addition, they have called
upon him to delay or abandon his plans
for early Algerian municipal elections,
in which the territory's million Mos
lens would have the same voting rights
as the million F'renchmen living there.
In his initial response to all this,
the Premier has sharply instructed Gen.
eral Raoul Salan, his chief representa-
tive in Algeria, not to get mixed up
in the regions politics and to divorce
himself from the Committee of Public
Safety. The same order applies to all
other army officers in the territory
notably General Jacques MaSSu-who
have joined in the committees effort
to exert pressure on Paris. AS for the
committee itself, De Gaulle has implic-
lily warned that it has no legal power
of any kind and that he must have the
reasoned adherence of all those who
want to aid me in saving national unity,
integrity and independence" In short,
just as he did during his Algerian tour
last week, he has demanded that the
will and authority of his government be
recognized and followed by all French
elements, civilian and military alike.
without such discipline and loyalty,
of course, Premier de Gaulle cannot
hope to make progress toward reason
able and just peace in Algeria. Nor can
he hope to deal effectively with Frances
grave economic problems, or to carry
out the constitutional reforms that are
so desperately needed to enable the
country to govern itself in freedom-to
govern itself with stable Parliament
and an executive branch that will not
have to worry about surviving from
one day to the next. That is why no
Frenchman in his right mind can be
anything but appreciative of the mod
Grafton, the skill, the Subtlety, the ear
nestness, the patriotism and the great
firmnesS that have thus far charac-
terized De Gaulle's efforts.
What still remains to be seen, how
ever, is whether he will succeed. The
French armed forces are the key factor
in the situation If they stand united
behind him and his regime-if men like
Salan and MasSu in Algeria do not
break away to support the extremists
then there will be reason for optimism
otherwise, despite the generals best
efforts, France conceivably may yet suf-
fer the torment of a civil war cataS-
trophic to itself and the free West as a
whole.