OCR
Pinay withdrew from public life, His loyalty to Pétain and Flandin the latter revived after the courageous and spectacular break between Flandin and the Germans in September 1940 = prevented him from joining the ranks of the résistance, On the other hand he was to much of an ardent patriot to join the Vichy régime, whose caracter he disapproved despite his personal feelings towards Pétain. Under these conditions he was able, when the first normal elections were held, to join ranks with the small group of independents, who went to parliament, on a strongly conservative, economicakly liberal platform, In the second elections, these Independents had organized themselves into something like a party and still to loose to be called such $ the Centre des Indépendants Nationaux et Paysans. This Centre, more a group of high-type individuals than a party organization, had a fine success at these elections, which became preparatory to their real sweep in June 1951, in which they gained, on ah openly conservative platform, almost one hundred seats in parliament. But already before this spectacular success, Pinay had been called to head texhnical departments in the cabinets, Speaking little, making a cohscientious work, he again was able to escape public attention and to be appreciated by the technicians alone, Thus he was able to achievz a remarkable continuity in office, and to carry out a creditable work. With the elections of June 1952, where he was triumphally re-elected, the Centre Indépendant became a party, without which no governement could be formede a This then is the past of Pinay. He himself is one of the most modest men in office. Slightly built, of very modest behaviour, he is a typical small frenchindustrialist. He has a nice family life, is a devout Catholic, and is of very retiring nature, He dislikes public functions and public attention. He has a very settled way of life. At sixty he looks a lot younger than his age, his bushy hair just beginning to turn grey. He has no nerves to speak off, worries about little. It is his set mie, that he retires at 21:30 houss to sleep. Nothing in the world can prevent him from doing this - except lately the sessions in parliament, His telephone is out at night. While he is extremely affable with his collaborators - of an old-world politeness - there is one thing that can infuriate him : to be disturbed at night, He always says, that nothing is more important for a good work than a good night. One of his most intimate collaborators, during the recent budget erisis, called Pimay at mifmight. What the Premier told him is not on record, but it was of such a nature, that when the next night the news of the Tunis riots broke, no power or no threat on earth could