CHARLES DE GAULLE SURVIVES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IN PARIS
Paris, France (JFK+50) On August 22, 1962, an assassination attempt was made here in Paris on President Charles de Gaulle as he and his wife were being driven to Orly Airport in their Citroen DS.
A dozen gunmen opened fire from the front and rear of the vehicle as it was moving down the highway. The rear window was blown out, all four tires were punctured and many bullets pierced the vehicle.
The driver was able to steer out of a skid and move on out of range. Miraculously, no one in the car was harmed.
The plot was orchestrated by Colonel Jean Bastien-Thiry of the OAS, a militant group which objected strongly to De Gaulle's decision to grant independence to Algeria.
Bastien-Thiry was captured and executed by firing squad in March 1963. All other conspirators were captured but eventually released.
JFK+50 NOTE
140 bullets were fired at De Gaulle's vehicle but it was going 70 mph at the time of the attack. Contrast that with JFK's limo on Elm Street in Dallas which was going 11.3 mph at the time of the attack. The U.S. government claimed only 3 shots were fired at JFK with 2 of the 3 hitting JFK & Governor Connally.
A movie was made in 1973 "The Day of the Jackal" based on Frederick Forsyth's 1971 novel about the attempt on De Gaulle's life. A British television series by the same title appeared in 2024.
SOURCE
"De Gaulle Survives Assassination Attempt," JFK+50, August 22, 2011, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/
