A Touch of Cohabitation

Look who's playing the Palace

The stately iron gates of the presidential Elysee Palace functioned like a revolving door last week as Valery Giscard d'Estaing's political opponents swiftly responded to his post-election appeal for "relaxation," "coexistence" and "reasonable cohabitation" among all parties. The first major leftist figure to enter the once impenetrable palace was Socialist Leader Franc,ois Mitterrand, whose hopes of governing France had suffered a shattering defeat. Mitterrand was ceremoniously greeted by Elysee Secretary General Jean Franc,ois-Poncet, who ushered the grim leftist into the sumptuous Golden Salon that once served as Charles de Gaulle's private office. There, Mitterrand shook hands with the victorious Giscard, brought out his meticulously prepared notes and proceeded to deliver a 1 1/2-hour presentation, which an Elysee spokesman later euphemistically called a "moderate and relaxed discussion."

In most other Western countries, such a handshake and discussion would scarcely be considered an earthshaking event. In the U.S., of course, Republican leaders regularly drop by the White House to argue with Jimmy Carter. But in France, the opposition has traditionally been treated with about as much regard as a gallon jug of Manischewitz wine. Indeed, the meeting between Mitterrand and Giscard was the first encounter between a key opposition leader and an elected President since the founding of the Fifth Republic in 1958.

Both Giscard and Mitterrand were aware that the popular vote (48.4% for the left, 51.6% for the center-right) signaled widespread unease in the nation. Accordingly, Giscard saw the necessity of inviting the leftist opinions--even though, as it turned out, those opinions were boringly familiar. Essentially, Mitterrand was seeking to persuade Giscard to give France's 13.9 million leftist voters a greater voice in political life. He asked for equal time for opposition leaders on government-controlled television and radio. He also pressed for their increased participation in the National Assembly. Finally, he reiterated his party's call for proportional representation in parliamentary and local elections.

On the same day, Giscard received the visit of his archrival, Gaullist Leader Jacques Chirac. After a private 65-minute talk, Chirac said only that "we discussed the political situation, but this is neither the time nor the place to make any comments." Still, it seemed clear that the Gaullist had voiced his displeasure at the President's "opening to the left."

Later in the week came Georges Seguy, leader of the huge Communist-dominated C.G.T. (General Confederation of Labor), Communist Party Chief Georges Marchais, and Robert Fabre, head of the Left Radical Party that had been allied with the Socialists and Communists in the elections. Seguy's "demands" came straight out of the handbook of inflation: across-the-board salary increases, including a 37% hike in the minimum wage to $520 a month, and increases in pensions and other social benefits. Marchais spent an hour with Giscard, pleading, he said, on behalf of "millions of workers who have reached the limit of their endurance." Afterward, the Communist leader declared: "I am convinced that the [center-right] majority will not solve the country's problems better tomorrow than it did yesterday." Translation: Giscard need not expect any warm cohabitation with the Communists in the foreseeable future.

Giscard's final visitor was Premier Raymond Barre, who presented his resignation--a mere formality. At week's end Giscard reappointed Barre, confident that the Premier's austerity programs were the essential measures needed to hold back inflation. Austerity was not exactly what the leftist leaders had in mind, but then, Mitterrand, Marchais and the others know that Giscard's engagement at the Palace runs to 1981, while theirs were only one-day stands.

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