But at that precise moment — so the story has it — the threat of death to de Gaulle came from a totally different direction, and it was never to be closer. One of de Gaulle's C.R.S. motor-cycle escort, moving almost within touching distance of the President, was a pied noir who — revolted by the 4 November speech — had volunteered to shoot him down, then ride off to safety. It would have been too easy. While de Gaulle was on his walkabout, the C.R.S. telephoned his F.A.F. bosses for confirmation; but — for reasons that remain obscure, possibly a veto by the military — the answer he got was: "No".

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 1299