Chilean Marxists Make Gains; Gaullist Vote Falls in France

Heavy voter turnouts marked important elections in both France and Chile on Sunday.

President Georges Pompidou and his ruling Gaullist party appeared likely to remain in power after next Sunday's election, despite a clear drop in popularity indicated by a trial run election held in France on Sunday.

In Chile, Marxist President Salvador Allende's Popular Unity Coalition registered small but surprising gains in both houses of Congress, capturing 45 per cent of the vote.

Stanley Hoffmann, professor of Government, said yesterday "the important round is next week." He explained that the French vote on two consecutive Sundays, and only those with an absolute majority are elected the first week. A simple plurality is required to win the second election.

Hoffmann said very few candidates were elected on Sunday. Of 490 seats, only 59 were filled.

The Gaullists won 50 seats Sunday, as compared to 1968, when they took 144 seats in the preliminary election.

Hoffmann said an important aspect of the election is whether the Socialists outdrew the Communists. The two parties have joined forces in an attempt to defeat the Gaullists. He said, "If the Socialists are ahead, the chances of the leftists to attract the middle people are better."

Nicholas A. Wahl, a research fellow in West European Studies, predicted that the present majority, composed of Gaullists and Independents, would retain power.

He said the centrists are now the key to the election next Sunday. They received 12 per cent of the vote in the first election, and their expected support would insure a Gaullist victory.

Jorge Dominguez, assistant professor of Government, said that while Allende's government had picked up seats in both houses, it had fallen off from its percentage of the total vote in last year's municipal election. "I don't see it as much of an increase in terms of votes" he said. He said the results indicate that the government's popularity had increased in 1971, but fallen in 1972.

Atilio Boron, a Government graduate student specializing in Chilean affairs said Allende's percentage of the total vote was "a great victory." He added that it was the first election in the twentieth century in which an incumbent Chilean president had increased his support in the parliament