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| 1969, April 28 |
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| RESIGNATION OF PRESIDENT DE GAULLE after an unexpected defeat in a popular referendum (April 27) on various proposed administrative reforms. The student movement had hastened de Gaulle's departure from power; he died the next year, Nov. 9, 1970. Alain Poher, president of the Senate, acted as interim president. | 1 |
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| June 1, 15 |
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| In a runoff election, Pompidou, a Gaullist, defeated Poher and became president of the republic (June 20). Jacques Chaban-Delmas was appointed prime minister. | 2 |
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| Aug. 18 |
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| The new administration undertook a limited devaluation of the franc, long resisted by de Gaulle. In other respects, too, an effort was made to soften previous French positions, notably with regard to NATO and to the problem of Britain's admission to the Common Market. | 3 |
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