Charles De Gaulle and the Media by Riccardo Brizzi

Author:Riccardo Brizzi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

A close reading of de Gaulle’s speeches confirms the seriousness with which Debré’s advice was taken into account and, at the same time, the limited power that Matignon had on the Élysée . Although de Gaulle followed some of the Prime Minister’s suggestions (no reference was made to the 128 years of French presence in Algeria, or to the “hostility” of the international community towards France, and some kind words for the Algerian French were added), the General was resolute on the need to adopt a policy of self-determination, which he asserted was the only option possible, and, more importantly, the only meritorious one for France (“self-determination is the only policy that is worthy of France. It is the only way out possible”); de Gaulle was also clear on the fact that it was the President of the Republic alone that wielded executive power (“As you know, I possess the supreme responsibility. It is me who is responsible for the destiny of the country”).60

With the exception of the Prime Minister and the General Secretary of the Élysée , nobody else knew in advance what de Gaulle’s televised speeches were going to be about, and often the decisions he announced in these speeches were even unknown to his ministers. “The Minister of Algeria found out that the Sahara region was going to be given to the FLN through a statement at the end of a sentence,”61 wrote Raymond Aaron, relaying the amazement of Jean de Broglie, Secretary of State for Algerian affairs during the Pompidou government. The aura of mystery left by the speeches contributed to enticing viewers’ curiosity. The speeches were recorded in the morning so that there was time to send copies to Algiers and Oran, to watch them and make changes where deemed necessary. De Gaulle’s speeches could hardly pass unnoticed by the viewers: they were in fact broadcast before the 8 o’clock news, repeated before the 11 o’clock news and screened a third time the following day before the 1 o’clock news. They inevitably conditioned the TV programming schedule. When the speeches were particularly long the schedule had to be adjusted to accommodate this; the news had to be cut or even cancelled. The 14 June 1960 speech is exemplary in this respect. Just before the end of the programme, the broadcaster announced that “due to a delay in the broadcasting of programs, the weather and news are cancelled”. Needless to say that in their place, between 11:49 and 12:11, the speech of the President of the Republic was broadcast in full.62

According to their length, the speeches can be categorised into three different types: the first type was the speech proclamation; this was short (6 to 8 minutes) made on the eve of some referendum or—more rarely—of elections, or in connection to critical events.63 This was very personal and aimed at achieving solidarity through a highly charged emotional message that exploited the intimate bond between the General and the nation, a bond that dated back to the Second World War when the General and French people momentarily were unified in spirit and aim.

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