In August de Gaulle took a relatively long vacation of three weeks, his first while in office, accompanied by a note carefully drafted by Tricot and others on the prospects for an Algerian peace settlement. Among the points studied was the pursuit of a cease-fire that could be regarded by the F.L.N. not as an act of surrender, but as a transitional period leading to definitive negotiations; also it contained the proposition that the Algerians be consulted (presumably by referendum) on the future status of their country. It was during these weeks of withdrawal from the daily pressures of the office that, one can assume, de Gaulle thoughtfully deliberated his Algeria policy.

XREF: Connects to leadership strategy literature about how distance and withdrawal from daily pressures enables deliberation — echoes Churchill's wilderness years and other works on contemplative decision-making.

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 1031