So That Tomorrow

Will Be like Today

Charles de Gaulle has toured his country 21 times since 1959, and as a result Frenchmen everywhere have grown accustomed to the towering figure mingling with crowds. But last week, as he set off on his latest trip, a junket through Picardy, there was an unusual air of curiosity: at 73, and recently out of the hospital after a prostate operation, how would De Gaulle stand up to four days of speeches and handshaking?

Perhaps as one concession to his convalescence, he did not travel in his usual speedy Citroen limousine; instead, he decided on a two-car diesel train, which could move him in greater comfort to the rural reaches of France's north. At his first scheduled stop, Soissons, a mighty cheer went up as he stepped before the throng at the Hotel de Ville. He knew as well as they that the Picardy farmers had been protesting angrily against low agricultural prices, so he permitted himself a moment of what for him was consider able levity. Apologizing for having canceled an earlier trip to the region because of his illness, De Gaulle smiled: "You know that some said I did not come at that time because I was afraid of you! As has become evident since then, it was not at all for that reason."

What was also quickly evident as De Gaulle proceeded through the towns and villages was that his skill and spirit were hardly diminished by either age or illness. He plunged happily into thickets of outstretched hands, ignoring the blazing June sun to deliver elegant little speeches, without notes and without hesitation. Caught in a rainstorm at Beauvais, De Gaulle stood through the Mayor's long speech without hat or raincoat as streams of water ran down his grey suit. Did this mean that De Gaulle would be able to go ahead with his ambitious ten-nation swing through Latin er aides were watching, ready to recommend a drastic cut in the itinerary--or even cancellation--at the slightest sign of flagging strength.

For the audiences of Picardy, a greater question was whether his illness would force De Gaulle out of the 1965 presidential race. To that question, he gave a relatively direct answer: "I am more determined than ever to serve my country to the extent that I can, so that things will remain tomorrow as they are today." As his trip through Picardy ended, it seemed clear that this was just what an overwhelming majority of Frenchmen wanted too.

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