ABSTRACT
Gaullism is like a foreign body within the French political system, and from 1946 to 1958 the system resisted it successfully. The great temptation of the French opposition parties was to await the return of a more normal political life – especially since the gaullist movement seemed fragile and ‘post-gaullism’ barely credible. General de Gaulle’s return to power was viewed by the communists with a mixture of hostility, anxiety and misplaced confidence. The gaullists were expected to poll less votes at the general election; radicals foresaw that the U.N.R. would be obliged to unite with other parties if it really wanted to govern, for it had, in their opinion, no hope of winning an absolute majority. For a long time, apart from the communists and the socialistes unifies, the opposition parties treated General de Gaulle kindly. In March 1967 Jean Lecanuet was careful to say that he wanted to modify gaullist policies without affecting either the boat or its captain.
