ABSTRACT
The Rassemblement du Peuple Franais (RPF), frankly anti- Communist, was bent on replacing the Fourth Republic with a presidentialist regime. The movement's devotion to a charismatic leader and Charles de Gaulle's condemnation of parliamentary democracy reminded many observers of Bonapartism or fascism, even though de Gaulle rejected any idea of taking power by extralegal means. To give himself more bar gaining power with the western Allies, de Gaulle flew to Moscow in December 1944, hoping to revive France's old alliance with the Russians. The constitution that established France's Fourth Republic gave most power to an elected Assembly, somewhat restrained by a Council of the Republic, and a president chosen by the two legislative bodies and authorized to nominate the prime minister. In exchange for agreeing to economic cooperation with its western European neighbors, France was able to use American grants and loans to finance the beginnings of its economic revival.
