De Gaulle refused to return to power by force, rejecting Napolonic dictatorial paths.

Evidence

The choice of the place, the famous terrace of the 18th Brumaire, so steeped in associations of Napoleonic coups d’états, seemed a curious one. De Gaulle was embarrassed, not having thought of the historical association, while Pflimlin was frankly disturbed by it. His misgivings were not allayed by de Gaulle’s continued refusal to repudiate the use of force by the Algiers leaders, and notably the takeover of Corsica. As he had insisted at every private and public meeting since 13 May, he repeated that, at his age, he had no desire to become either a Napoleon I or Napoleon III. “You know very well”, he assured Pflimlin, “that I will never return to power brought in by force. I will not be the man of an insurrection. Never will I accept a military dictatorship, never, never.” — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 898

Categorization

• XREF: The 18th Brumaire terrace connects to the reader’s interest in how the French Revolution lineage — Napoleon’s coup — haunted the Fifth Republic’s founding moment. — connects to: De Gaulle’s ambiguity to the army was deliberate deception for its own good.; De Gaulle let subordinates voice hard-line positions he would later disavow.; De Gaulle refused to repudiate the army’s force while denying dictatorial intent (+1 more)

Related

• De Gaulle refused to repudiate the army’s force while denying dictatorial intent (similarity 0.95)
• De Gaulle dismissed the threat of military revolt, invoking the Dreyfus precedent (similarity 0.88)
• De Gaulle let subordinates voice hard-line positions he would later disavow. (similarity 0.85)
• De Gaulle’s ambiguity to the army was deliberate deception for its own good. (similarity 0.83)
• De Gaulle’s mystical self-assurance blinded him to the F.L.N.’s political character. (similarity 0.81)
• De Gaulle demanded total replacement of the Fourth Republic as his price for returning. (similarity 0.81)
• The Dreyfus affair demonstrates intra-bloc resistance to reactionary Caesarism (similarity 0.81)
• Algeria was only one element of de Gaulle’s larger ambitions. (similarity 0.80)
• De Gaulle was willing to shed blood to preserve the state (similarity 0.80)
• De Gaulle took power in June 1958 offering no Algerian solution. (similarity 0.80)
• De Gaulle’s personal authority rallied France against the Algerian insurrection without any new concession. (similarity 0.79)
• De Gaulle publicly promised the army France would stay in Algeria in early 1960. (similarity 0.79)
• De Gaulle’s intransigent refusal to yield to the riots proved strategically correct (similarity 0.79)
• De Gaulle may have countenanced a military takeover as a fallback. (similarity 0.79)
• De Gaulle’s conciliatory gestures angered the army while winning no concessions from the F.L.N. (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• De Gaulle dismissed the threat of military revolt, invoking the Dreyfus precedent #responds-to (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1082