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This book explores Charles De Gaulle´s use and strict control of television between 1958 and 1969, highlighting the association between charismatic power and television with regards to legitimizing the Gaullist leadership and determining an evolution towards presidentialism during the Fifth Republic. A protagonist of European political history of the twentieth century, Charles de Gaulle was a pioneer in the use of mass media: in the Second World War he had earned the nickname of Général-micro due to his reliance on radio communication; in 1958 he then started an substantive and fruitful use of television, which some of his opponents labelled as ´telecracy´. From difficult beginnings, where he followed the advice of publicity and communication experts, through his masterful TV appearances during the dramatic moments of the Algerian War, to the presidential campaign of 1965 and the crisis of May 1968, the author paints a compelling fresco of de Gaulle as the first TV
leader in contemporary European history. The book will appeal to students and scholars interested in the fields of French politics, political communication and political leadership.

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Introduction. Politics between Communication and Personalization.- 1. The Mass Media in France between 1944 and 1958.- 2. The Personalization of Politics and Government Communication during the Fourth Republic.- 3. De Gaulle and the Press: A Thirty-Year Long Misunderstanding.- 4. The Political Control of Television.- 5. The General and the Small Screen.- 6. Leadership and Television. The General and Constitutional Development during the Fifth Republic.- 7. Gaullist "Telecracy" (1962-65).- 8. The 1965 "Tele-Presidential" Elections.- 9. De Gaulle, Pompidou and May 1968.- Conclusion: The Origin of the ´Telecracy?´

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"Brizzi´s book has much to recommend it. It will appeal to anyone interested in de Gaulle´s presidency, political communication in France during the Fifth Republic and, more generally, the exercise of executive leadership in western democratic political systems. It contains original research by the author (for instance on newspaper partisanship), draws significantly on archival data and interview material, and demonstrates a high level of scholarship." (Raymond Kuhn, H-France Review, Vol. 19 (4), January, 2019)

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Riccardo Brizzi is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Bologna, Italy and visiting Professor at Sciences Po Paris and Sciences Po Lyon, France. His research interests include French and European history, and the history of mass media and political communication. His previous publications include France after 2012 (with G. Goodliffe, 2015).

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