| The cabinet of Guy Mollet was succeeded by a coalition government of Socialists and Radicals under Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury that carried through a 20 percent devaluation of the franc but suffered defeat (Sept. 30) over the Algerian issue. After more than five weeks' delay, Félix Gaillard organized (Nov. 6) a combination of the center parties to form the twenty-third cabinet France had seen since the Second World War. The war in North Africa, following the long struggle in Indochina, had placed a heavy strain on the French government's finances. The national economy, however, benefited from the creation of the Common Market (See March 25), promoted by the treaties concluded in Rome (Mar. 25). | 1 |
