I once met an old lady in the delightful little town of Neuvic d’Ussel who had forgotten the fact that her next-door neighbour, Henri Queuille, had been prime minister on three different occasions. One can see why she might have failed to remember this. In the course of the French Fourth Republic (1946-1958), there were 16 prime ministers and 21 governments, none of which lasted much longer than a year. There were many small and poorly disciplined parties: several groupings described themse...
