Editing Charles de Gaulle (section)

=== New elections and resignation ===
Since the liberation, the only parliament in France had been an enlarged version of the Algiers [[Provisional Consultative Assembly]], and at last, in October 1945, [[1945 French legislative election|elections]] were held for [[National Constituent Assembly (France, 1945)|a new Constituent Assembly]] whose main task was to provide a new constitution for the [[French Fourth Republic|Fourth Republic]]. De Gaulle favoured a strong executive for the nation,{{r|time19590105}} but all three of the main parties wished to severely restrict the powers of the president. The Communists wanted an assembly with full constitutional powers and no time limit, whereas de Gaulle, the Socialists and the [[Popular Republican Movement]] (MRP) advocated one with a term limited to only seven months, after which the draft constitution would be submitted for another referendum.<ref>Hilary Footitt and John Simmonds. ''France, 1943–1945'' (1988) pp. 228–59.</ref>

On 13 November 1945, the new assembly unanimously elected Charles de Gaulle head of the government, but problems immediately arose when it came to selecting the cabinet, due to his unwillingness to allow the Communists any important ministries. The Communists, now the largest party and with their charismatic leader [[Maurice Thorez]] back at the helm, were not prepared to accept this for a second time, and a furious row ensued, during which de Gaulle sent a letter of resignation to the speaker of the Assembly and declared that he was unwilling to trust a party that he considered to be an agent of a foreign power (Russia) with authority over the police and armed forces.<ref name=Schoenbrun />

Eventually, the new cabinet was finalised on 21 November, with the Communists receiving five out of the twenty-two ministries, and although they still did not get any key portfolios, de Gaulle believed that the draft constitution placed too much power in the hands of parliament with its shifting party alliances. One of his ministers said he was "a man equally incapable of monopolizing power as of sharing it".<ref>Ronald Matthews, ''The death of the Fourth Republic'' (1954) p. 121.</ref>

De Gaulle outlined a programme of further nationalisations and a new economic plan which were passed, but a further row came when the Communists demanded a 20-percent reduction in the military budget. Refusing to "rule by compromise", de Gaulle once more threatened to resign. There was a general feeling that he was trying to blackmail the assembly into complete subservience.<ref name=Werth /> Although the MRP managed to broker a compromise which saw the budget approved with amendments, it was a stop-gap measure.<ref name=Schoenbrun />

Barely two months after forming the new government, de Gaulle abruptly resigned on 20 January 1946. The move was called "a bold and ultimately foolish political ploy", with de Gaulle hoping that as a war hero, he would be soon brought back as a more powerful executive by the French people.<ref name="Hitchcock 2004 112">{{cite book|title=The Struggle for Europe: The Turbulent History of a Divided Continent 1945 to the Present|first=William I.|last=Hitchcock|publisher=Random House|year=2004|isbn=978-0-385-49799-2|page=112|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fFfhnC4mYccC&pg=PT112|access-date=24 August 2020|archive-date=14 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214235801/https://books.google.com/books?id=fFfhnC4mYccC&pg=PT112|url-status=live}}</ref> However, that did not turn out to be the case. With the war finally over, the initial crisis had passed. Although there were still shortages, particularly of bread, France was now recovering, and de Gaulle suddenly did not seem so indispensable. The Communist publication ''Combat'' wrote, "There was no cataclysm, and the empty plate didn't crack".<ref name=Werth />