IV.

Second Term

In 1965 de Gaulle was elected to a second seven-year term as president, but his margin of victory was narrowed. During the following years he irked many by urging the autonomy of French Canada and replacing the U.S. dollar as the chief international monetary-exchange standard, with a return to the gold standard. His request for the withdrawal from France of troops of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was fulfilled in 1967. In May 1968 de Gaulle faced the greatest crisis since his return to power, when rebellious students and striking workers brought the economic life of France to a virtual standstill. De Gaulle, however, triumphed, and in elections the next month his supporters considerably increased their majority in the National Assembly. De Gaulle resigned the presidency following defeat in a national referendum in April 1969. He retired to his private estate in Colombey-les-deux-Églises, and there he continued to work on his memoirs until his death.

De Gaulle wrote three books on military tactics, Edge of the Sword (1932; translated 1960); The Army of the Future (1934; translated 1941); and France and Its Army (1938; translated 1945); and of War Memoirs (3 volumes, 1954-1959; translated 1955-1960) and Memoirs of Hope: Renewal and Endeavor (2 volumes, 1970-1971; translated 1972).