ABSTRACT
The first turning point of the régime ushered in a period of over four years, during which the prevailing characteristic was normality. In his New Year messages for both 1963 and the following year, General de Gaulle emphasized the fact that France was now at peace. The decision of the Conseil d’Etat was formally respected in that the Cour militaire was replaced by a permanent Cour de Sûreté de l’Etat, whose function was to try a certain number of offences against the State committed by civilians as well as by soldiers. The controversy over the Cour de Sûreté de l’Etat died down very quickly, partly because it had an element of unreality about it, partly because the focus of political interest shifted almost immediately to the social and economic fields, and remained there until, with the approach of the presidential election, and then the general election, interest became centred almost exclusively on electoral tactics.
