That day Guy Mollet, though at first deterred by de Gaulle's refusal to disallow the use of armed force, endeavoured to act as intermediary between Pflimlin and the general. Late on the night of the 26th, the weather having turned icily cold, a clandestine meeting of the two took place at St Cloud. 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." But he steadfastly refused Pflimlin's request to appeal to the army for restraint, as President Coty had done. "M. Coty wasn't obeyed. I can only risk my authority. And if I am not heeded?"

XREF: Ties to the 1958 Algerian crisis and de Gaulle's return to power, relevant to French political history.

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 898