ABSTRACT
By 1972 it was clear that the Gaullists were in serious difficulties. Discipline, traditionally their strength, had declined since 1969. Deputies had criticised the ‘opening’ of the majority, and had found Pompidou’s first Prime Minister, Jacques Chaban-Delmas, too liberal. Gaullist dissidents had helped turn Pompidou’s 1972 referendum on enlargement of the European Community into a damp squib; in 1973, they would sabotage his plan for a constitutional amendment to limit the presidential term to five years. Property development scandals had engulfed several leading Gaullists and passed close to several more. The March 1973 parliamentary elections saw the party’s support fall back to a quarter of the voters, a drop of 2 million and a lower percentage than in 1962 (see Table 7.2). That meant a loss of over 100 Deputies. If Gaullists held onto two-thirds of the majority’s parliamentary seats, it was largely thanks to their continued hold on the majority’s investitures rather than to their inherent electoral strength. Opinion polls suggested that their real support in the country was now no greater than that of their allies.
