From time immemorial, the French land was famous for its outstanding rulers and politicians. It so happened that in the cohort of the best was a man named Pompidou Georges, who had a fairly significant impact on the formation of France as one of the most powerful states in Europe, and contributed to strengthening its authority in the international arena. His fate and actions will be discussed in our article.
Major milestones: birth, parents, education
Pompidou Georges was born on July 5, 1911 in a town called Montboudif, located in the department of Cantal. His father and mother were simple teachers, so it cannot be said that the future president of the French land had any noble origin.
In 1931, a young man becomes a student at the Higher Normal School, but before that there was training at preparatory courses opened at the Lyceum Louis the Great. Note the fact that Leopold Senghor, who later became the head of Senegal, studied there with him. Both students were friends.
In 1934, Pompidou takes first place in the competition in philological disciplines and beginsteach. Initially, he practices in Marseille, and a little later - in Paris. By the way, the young specialist received two diplomas - Ecole Normal and the Free School of Political Sciences.
Private life
Georges became married to Pompidou on October 29, 1935. Claude Kaur became his chosen one. Unfortunately, the couple did not have any children of their own. And therefore, in 1942, the couple adopted a boy named Alain. Their adopted son is today the chairman of the European Patent Committee. The family was very friendly, and its members were never separated from each other for a long time. As for the hobbies of the noble couple, even before the start of the war with Germany, they were able to collect a fairly large collection of various works of art.
Activities during World War II
During this period, Georges was forced to interrupt his teaching career and go to serve in the army. He was assigned to the 141st Alpine Infantry Regiment. Until the defeat of France (in 1940), Pompidou was a lieutenant, and later became a member of the Resistance Movement.
The beginning of a political career
After the end of the war, Pompidou Georges in 1945 becomes a member of the Provisional Government, where he holds the position of assistant on education. It was during this period that his close cooperation with the then President Charles de Gaulle began. After a while, our hero moves to the State Council, a little later - to the tourism committee. In fact, Georges ended up in the government thanks to his acquaintance withoutstanding economist Gaston Palevsky. As for the relationship with de Gaulle, Pompidou quickly became friends with him, but their warm relationship ended in a dramatic way, but we'll talk about that a little later.
General's Advisor
In 1953, de Gaulle was out of work, because he did not see the future of his party. Together with him, Pompidou also temporarily dropped out of politics, who, in turn, became a manager in the bank of the most famous financiers - the Rothschilds.
In 1958, the disgraced general returns to power again, and with him - Georges Pompidou, who, thanks to the patronage of his friend, took the post of director of the cabinet of ministers. Georges took an active part in the formation of the government. In the period from 1959 to 1962, he was again involved in the Rothschild business, but in parallel with this work, he held meetings in the newly created Constitutional Council. Pompidou was also involved in the preparation of the Evian Accords, which secured the independent status of Algeria (1962).
Stay as Prime Minister
Georges Pompidou, whose photo is shown in this article, took this position in 1962. By the way, the French premiership dragged on for six years (April 1962 - July 1968), which is still a record for the republic. No one else has been in the chair of the head of government for so long. During his work, five cabinets of ministers have been replaced.
George's approval in this post was not hindered by his lack of politicalauthority (he could not be called a well-known figure in politics), nor the fact that he had never been a deputy (this requirement ceased to be relevant precisely thanks to the Gaullist constitution). The government declaration of Pompidou was approved by 259 deputies. But on October 5, 1962, the assembly announced a vote of no confidence in the cabinet. In turn, the head of state de Gaulle used his right to dissolve parliament, due to which Georges remained at the helm of the Cabinet.
A referendum was also held to amend the constitution, after which the Gaullists were able to win parliamentary elections. Of course, this alignment led to the strengthening of Pompidou's position.
But in the mid-60s, Georges's team was waiting for tests in the form of massive miners' strikes, increased inflation and the strengthening of political opponents. In 1967, de Gaulle's party was only slightly ahead of its competitors in the elections.
Quarrel with de Gaulle
George Pompidou, whose biography will be interesting for all educated people to study, became a popular personality in 1968. Such an increase in popularity among the people was facilitated by the activity of the French politician himself, who, in the midst of riots and strikes, was able to extinguish the fire of rebellion among the rebels with the language of diplomacy. He, as a former teacher, easily managed to negotiate with representatives of the rebels, to consult with them. It was Pompidou who suggested de Gaulle not to hold referendums that had already become boring to everyone, but to call unscheduled elections inparliament. Thanks to this move, the general strike was stopped. The Grenelle Accords were concluded.
However, such activity led to the end of good relations with de Gaulle. And even the victory in the parliamentary elections of the Gaullist party (in 1968) was regarded not as a triumph of the general himself, but as the confidence of the common people in Pompidou. Ultimately, Georges was forced to leave his post and give it to de Murville.
In January 1969, answering questions from journalists in Rome, Pompidou hinted that he was going to run for president. For this, de Gaulle's team immediately began to look for dirt on the former ally. All this eventually led to the spread of insulting rumors that denigrated the glorious name of Pompidou's wife. It goes without saying that the result of this was the final rupture of the once friendly relations between the two prominent French politicians.
Work as president
April 28, 1969, de Gaulle was forced to resign, which allowed France to start a new round of its history.
In turn, Pompidou Georges took advantage of this. His brief biography indicates that he became one of the favorites in the presidential election.
In the first round of voting, he was able to bypass his main competitor, but the available votes were not enough to fix the final victory.
The second round was held on June 15, and Pompidou won 58.2% of the vote. It was a triumph! Four days later, the Constitutional Council officially proclaimedGeorges as the country's new president. On June 20, he took up his duties.
Work on the main post of the state for Pompidou began with a fairly significant devaluation of the franc, which amounted to 12%. But skillful actions were able to mitigate the consequences of this event. It is worth noting that during the reign of Georges, large-scale industrialization and development of transport began in the country. It was under him that high-speed roads were actively built, the automation and mechanization of agricultural activities increased.
It is also important that Georges Pompidou, whose policies contributed to bringing France to a new level, paid attention to the nuclear program. At the same time, he believed that the atom should be used exclusively for peaceful purposes, not in a military aspect. In March 1973, a special service was created to control nuclear energy.
If we talk about Pompidou's foreign policy, he aspired to independence of the republic from the general course of NATO and the USA. The President believed that it was necessary to strengthen relations within Europe itself. He maintained ties with the Soviet Union and China. In general, the Frenchman preferred informal communication with the heads of other countries, inviting them to a joint hunt or dinner and holding meetings “without ties.”
End of life
Pompidou Georges (his quotes went to the people and many of them are used to this day) died on April 2, 1974 due to blood poisoning. However, the infection entered the bloodstream due to a weakened immune system, since for severalin recent years, the head of the Fifth Republic had cancer.
His catchphrases were: “The city must accept the car”, “French and French women! De Gaulle is dead, France has become a widow!”
