autumn in preference to devaluation. By the
spring of 1969 de Gaulle had decided to put his
leadership to the test by another referendum on
the issues of regional devolution and the reform of
the upper house of parliament. His call for support
for French people to choose between him and
‘upheaval’ rang hollow. On 27 April, 52 per cent
voted against and de Gaulle promptly resigned.
French society was now sufficiently stable and
mature to benefit from a less authoritarian style
and from new leaders who did not claim to
embody the mystic spirit of France. Yet it is diffi-
cult to escape the conclusion that de Gaulle had
been necessary and that Gaullism, with all its
drawbacks, had provided a bridge between the old
regime and the new.534 THE RECOVERY OF WESTERN EUROPE IN THE 1950s AND 1960s