No book about the early years of the Fifth Republic would be complete
without a chapter on Charles de Gaulle. In its first few years, it was his
republic in almost every respect. He created it, built it, and changed it.
Other men and women, of course, made major contributions, but au-
thors who used titles such as The De Gaulle Revolution ( Werth 1960) or
De Gaulle's Republic ( Williams and Harrison 1960) to describe those first
years were not far off the mark.

Since there are at least four brief but outstanding biographies of de
Gaulle readily available in English ( Lacouture 1966; B. Crozier 1973;
Werth 1965; Cook 1983), this chapter does not focus on the highlights
of his life. Rather, it concentrates on how de Gaulle and his colleagues
turned his personal popularity into enduring support for the new regime
and the ability to cope with the chaos it inherited.

When he came to power, the new regime rested on very fragile
ground. It faced a revolution on two fronts in Algeria and had only
grudging support from most political parties and interest groups at
home. To make the new regime work, de Gaulle had to give life to the
new institutions, especially the presidency, so that they could survive
and prosper after he was gone.

That is precisely what he did. Therein lies his political genius and the
second building block of a regime whose success continued far beyond
its creator's retirement and death.

De Gaulle was a charismatic leader: an exceptional man, endowed
with exceptional talents, who rose to power during exceptional times.

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