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Aline Coutrot
tion, Parlement, groupes de pression —, ils réalisent une œuvre durable, consolidée par les gouvernements successifs de la Quatrième République, quelle que soit leur coloration partisane. La rapidité et l'efficacité de la décision contrastent avec la lenteur des solutions de compromis qui caractérisent souvent les efforts de modernisation en période normale de fonctionnement de la démocratie.
The creation of the atomic energy commisariat The French Atomic Energy Commissariat is in the vanguard of the modernisation policy launched immediately after the Liberation, and testifies to de Gaulle's determination to win back France's position via possession of the atomic bomb. Analysis of the decision-making process reveals the vital role played by a small number of men, the ablest in the scientific and technological field, who worked in strictest secrecy. They were the initiators of the project, its artisans and its legislators, before assuming the management of the Commissariat. That they were accustomed to working at thé forefront of progress, from an international point of view, and had a vast network of relations were considerable assets and reasons for their success. Free from all governmental, parliamentary and pressure group interference, theirs was a lasting achievement which was Consolidated by the successive governements of the Fourth Republic, whatever their political hue. The speed and effectiveness of the décision are in contrast with the slowness of the compromise solutions which often characterize efforts at modernisation during the normal functioning of a democracy.
