- In 1954 the Algerian war began. But faced with a conflict that escalates, successive governments fail to provide an adequate response to the decolonization movement that has been underway since the end of the Second World War.
- On April 26, 1958, thousands of people demonstrate in Algiers to demand a government of public safety. René Coty, President of the Republic, calls Pierre Pfimlin to lead Parliament on May 8, 1958. The IV th Republic proves unable to find a solution in the Algerian war. Pfimlin favors negotiations with the FLN.
May 13, 1958
Characters
Charles de Gaulle
René Coty
Pierre Pfimlin
Jacques Massu
Raoul Salan
Procedure
In Algeria, the military does not adhere to the positions of the new President of the Council. General Salan denounces a "Diên-Biên-Phu diplomatic", in reference to the battle in Indochina where the French army experienced a real debacle.
The veterans organize a demonstration on May 13, 1958, with the slogan of the change of regime in France and the tribute to the soldiers killed by the FLN. The students of Algiers, favorable to French Algeria, draw the procession in front of the doors of the building which houses the general government. The demonstrators enter the building with the paratroopers who were guarding the gates. The military high command joins the procession:Generals Massu and Salan.
A meeting was formed under the name of “Comité de salut public”, and covered by the authority of the generals, it worked for the return of General de Gaulle to the head of state. His action during the Second World War brought him stature and respect among the military. In France, we are already talking about his return, especially in the newspaper Le Monde , and President Coty is in favor of the idea of leaving his place to the general.
Consequences
- On May 15, de Gaulle makes a public statement in which he announces that he stands ready to "assume the powers of the Republic" . The crisis worsened:on May 24, paratroopers invaded the prefecture and disarmed the CRS. On the night of the 26th to the 27th, Pfimlin met de Gaulle, the President of the Council was ready to withdraw.
- Pfimlin resigns, and de Gaulle is invested on the 1 st June:the military project comes to fruition. A few days before, a demonstration organized by the left to "defend the Republic" is a success. At the beginning of June, he made a trip to Algeria.
- Contemporaries of the time witnessed the end of the IV th Republic. On September 28, 1958, the referendum validated the Constitution of the V th Republic, and endorses a presidential system where the President can have full powers or dissolve the National Assembly.
- On December 21, 1958, de Gaulle was elected president of the V th Republic. The birth of the V e The Republic must therefore be understood in the context of the Algerian war and the military coup carried out by the military in Algiers on May 13, 1958.