In the context of the strong growth of the last years of theTrente Glorieuses, Pompidou continued De Gaulle's policy of modernisation, which was symbolised by the presidential use of theConcorde, the creation of large industrial groups and the launch of thehigh-speed train project (TGV). The government invested heavily in the automobile,agribusiness, steel, telecommunications,nuclear and aerospace sectors and also created the minimum wage (SMIC) and the Ministry of the Environment.
An admirer ofcontemporary art, Pompidou's name remains known worldwide for theCentre Pompidou, which he initiated and was inaugurated in 1977; it subsequently spread the name with its branches inMetz (France),Málaga (Spain),Brussels (Belgium) andShanghai (China). A Georges Pompidou Museum is also dedicated to him in his hometown.
The family of Georges Pompidou was of very modest origins. He was the grandson of farmers of modest means in Cantal on both his father's and his mother's side. His case is thus often cited as a typical example ofsocial mobility in theThird Republic because of public schooling.[2]
He first taught literature at thelycée Henri IV inParis until he was hired in 1953 byGuy de Rothschild to work atRothschild. In 1956, he was appointed the bank's general manager, a position that he held until 1962. Later, he was hired byCharles de Gaulle to manage theAnne de Gaulle Foundation forDown syndrome (de Gaulle's youngest daughter, Anne, had Down syndrome).
Jacques Chirac served as an aide to Prime Minister Pompidou and recalled:
The man gave the appearance of being secretive, wily, a little cunning—which he was, to a degree. However, it was primarily his intelligence, culture, and competence that conferred indisputable authority on him and commanded respect.... I remember his untamed eyebrows, his penetrating, very kindly gaze, his perceptive smile, full of humour and mischievousness, his voice with its wonderful low, warm, gravelly tone, and a figure that was both powerful and elegant. Naturally reserved, little given to emotional outbursts, Pompidou did not forge very close ties with his colleagues.[6]
He served asprime minister of France under de Gaulle afterMichel Debré resigned, from 14 April 1962 to 10 July 1968, and to this day is the longest serving French prime minister under theFifth Republic. His nomination was controversial because he was not a member of theNational Assembly. In October 1962, he was defeated in a vote of no-confidence, but de Gaulle dissolved the National Assembly. This was the last time a French government fell to a confidence vote until thecollapse ofMichel Barnier'sgovernment in 2024.[7] The Gaullists won thelegislative election and Pompidou was reappointed as prime minister.
In 1964, he was faced with a miners' strike. He led the1967 legislative campaign of theUnion of Democrats for the Fifth Republic to a narrow victory. Pompidou was widely regarded[by whom?] as being responsible for the peaceful resolution of the student uprising of May 1968. His strategy was to break the coalition of students and workers by negotiating with the trade-unions and employers (Grenelle conference).
During theevents of May 1968, disagreements arose between Pompidou and de Gaulle. Pompidou did not understand why the President did not inform him of his departure toBaden-Baden on 29 May. Their relationship, until then very good, would be strained from then on. Pompidou led and won the1968 legislative campaign, overseeing a tremendous victory of the Gaullist Party. He then resigned. Nevertheless, in part due to his actions during the May 1968 crisis, he appeared as the natural successor to de Gaulle. Pompidou announced his candidature for the Presidency in January 1969.
In social policy, Pompidou's tenure as prime minister witnessed the establishment of the National Employment Fund in 1963 to counter the negative effects on employment caused by industrial restructuring.[8]
After the failure of the1969 constitutional referendum, de Gaulle resigned and Pompidou was elected president of France.[9] In thegeneral election of 15 June 1969, he defeated the centrist president of the Senate and acting presidentAlain Poher by a wide margin (58% to 42%).[10] Though a Gaullist, Pompidou was more pragmatic than de Gaulle, notably facilitating the accession of theUnited Kingdom to theEuropean Community on 1 January 1973. He embarked on an industrialisation plan and initiated theArianespace project, as well as theTGV project, and furthered the French civilian nuclear programme. He was sceptical about the "New Society" programme of his prime minister,Jacques Chaban-Delmas. In 1972, he replaced Chaban-Delmas withPierre Messmer, a more conservative Gaullist. While the left-wing opposition organised itself and proposed aCommon Programme before the1973 legislative election, Pompidou widened his presidential majority by including Centrist pro-European parties. In addition, he paid special attention to regional and local needs in order to strengthen his political party, the UDR (Union des Democrates pour la Ve République), which he made a central and lasting force in the Gaullist movement.[11]
The United States was eager to restore positive relations with France after de Gaulle's departure from office. New US PresidentRichard Nixon and his top adviserHenry Kissinger admired Pompidou; the politicians were in agreement on most major policy issues. The United States offered to help the French nuclear programme. Economic difficulties, however, arose following theNixon Shock and the1973–1975 recession, particularly over the role of the American dollar as the medium for world trade.[12]
Pompidou sought to maintain good relations with the newly independent former French colonies in Africa, relying on such powerful figures asJacques Foccart andRené Journiac who maintained informal networks with Africanstrongmen.[13][14] In 1971, he visitedMauritania, Senegal,Ivory Coast,Cameroon, andGabon. He brought a message of cooperation and financial assistance, but without the traditional paternalism. More broadly, he made an effort to foster closer relations with North African and Middle Eastern countries in order to develop a hinterland including all nations bordering the Mediterranean.[15]
Pompidou's time in office was marked by constant efforts to modernise France's capital city. He spearheaded construction of a modern art museum, the Centre Beaubourg (renamedCentre Pompidou after his death), on the edge of theMarais area of Paris. Other attempts at modernisation included tearing down the open-air markets atLes Halles and replacing them with the shopping mall of the same name, building theMontparnasse Tower, and constructing an expressway on the right bank of the Seine.
The grave of Georges and Claude Pompidou in Orvilliers
While still in office, Pompidou died on 2 April 1974 at his apartment,[16] fromWaldenström macroglobulinemia. Although his illness had not been disclosed and the government officially denied any health problems, there were reports of ill health and speculation of possible cancer during his last year in office. However, even on the day of his death, Pompidou had a visit scheduled from Rwandan PresidentGrégoire Kayibanda.[16]
His body was buried on 4 April, in the churchyard ofOrvilliers, where he had bought an oldbaker's house which he turned into a weekend home.[17] The official memorial service for him was held atNotre-Dame de Paris with 3,000 dignitaries in attendance, including foreign heads of state. April 6 was declared anational day of mourning and entertainment and cultural events were canceled, theatres and schools closed.[18][19]
A controversy arose surrounding the secrecy kept over Pompidou's illness, and the political class agreed that future presidents would have to provide reports on the state of their health; however, PresidentFrançois Mitterrand, who had pledged during his 1981 campaign to publish regular health bulletins, would also conceal the severity of his cancer during his presidency.[20]
^Ministère des armées - 92è Régiment d'infantrie[1]
^e Georges Pompidou georges-pompidou.orgArchived 4 November 2021 at theWayback MachineCentenaire de la naissance du président Georges Pompidou 1911-2011, Repères biographiques de Georges Pompidou (p. 18),Centre Pompidou, direction de la communication, dossier de presse.
^"Fichier des décès – années 1970 à 1979" [Death file – years 1970 to 1979] (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved26 January 2021.
^Wall, E. H. (1976). "Pompidou, Georges Jean Raymond". In William D. Halsey (ed.).Collier's Encyclopedia. Vol. 19. Macmillan Educational Corporation. p. 236.
^Servenay, David (2023). "Foccart, Marenches, Journiac : trois « crocodiles » dans le marigot du renseignement franco-africain". In Borrel, Thomas; Boukari-Yabara, Amzat; Collombat, Benoît; Deltombe, Thomas (eds.).Une histoire de la Françafrique: L'empire qui ne veut pas mourir.Seuil. pp. 504–505.ISBN9782757897751.
^Edward A. Kolodziej,French Foreign Policy under de Gaulle and Pompidou: The Politics of Grandeur (1974).
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