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In the midst of press allegations concerning Giscard’s royal style, a spate of books has appeared accusing the president of absolutist dreams, longings for blue blood not rightfully in his veins, and a thirst for the ritual of a kingly court. These discussions provide relief from the day-to-day electoral tedium, but they unwittingly enhance Giscard’s prestige. For since the monarchical style is almost built into the Fifth Republic, anyone with the slightest feel for power is going to look regal if not downright autocratic. No doubt there will someday be a return to the cozy anarchy of the “republic of deputies.” For the present, the system of a strong executive remains a valid instrument of French democracy.

One great question about all French elections as far as France’s allies are concerned is how the Communists will do. The French Party is still substantial, powerful even, after so many years of stagnant opposition. It is still able to pull almost 20 per cent of the electorate over to its lists. It regards its principal enemy as not the Giscardists or the Gaullists but the social democrats, with whom it broke openly in the legislative elections of 1978. The betting is that its candidate, Marchais, will get about 15 to 18 per cent of the votes on the first ballot.

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In the midst of press allegations concerning Giscard’s royal style, a spate of books has appeared accusing the president of absolutist dreams, longings for blue blood not rightfully in his veins, and a thirst for the ritual of a kingly court. These discussions provide relief from the day-to-day electoral tedium, but they unwittingly enhance Giscard’s prestige. For since the monarchical style is almost built into the Fifth Republic, anyone with the slightest feel for power is going to look regal if not downright autocratic. No doubt there will someday be a return to the cozy anarchy of the “republic of deputies.” For the present, the system of a strong executive remains a valid instrument of French democracy.

One great question about all French elections as far as France’s allies are concerned is how the Communists will do. The French Party is still substantial, powerful even, after so many years of stagnant opposition. It is still able to pull almost 20 per cent of the electorate over to its lists. It regards its principal enemy as not the Giscardists or the Gaullists but the social democrats, with whom it broke openly in the legislative elections of 1978. The betting is that its candidate, Marchais, will get about 15 to 18 per cent of the votes on the first ballot.