General de Gaulle, on his own testimony, has never said that he wanted to see Britain enter into the Common Market stripped naked.

At the start of his press conference at the Elysée Palace, he was asked whether he had made that remark so often attributed to him. He denied it. For a beautiful creature, he said, nakedness was natural enough: for those around her, it was satisfying enough. "But I have never said that about England."

At the end of the press conference, he spelt out in detail his reasons for remaining opposed even to the opening of negotiations for British entry.

The recent report of the Brussels Commission, he said, had shown clearly that membership of the EEC was incompatible with the economy of Britain, with her chronic deficiency in balance of payments. It was also incompatible with the British tradition of obtaining cheap food from all parts of the world.

It was incompatible with restrictions on the removal of capital from the country and with the state of sterling, which had been thrown into prominence by the devaluation and the loans which had proceeded and accompanied it. All these things prevented Britain joining the solid, interdependent and assured society of the EEC.

Transformation

To say that, in spite of all these things, Britain might enter, would mean the explosion of the Community which they had begun to build.

Theoretically it was true that the economic system of the Six was not the only one which Europe might practise. One might imagine, for example, a free trade area covering the whole of Western Europe, or a free trade unit of 10, 12, or 15 European countries on the lines of the Kennedy Round.

France did not propose either, since it would mean the abolition of the Common Market, but if they were suggested, she was prepared to examine them within the context of the Rome Treaty.

What she would not consent to was any association with Britain, which would mean the destruction of the Europe which they had begun to build - a Europe independent of a monetary, political and financial system which was foreign to her. In sum, before Britain could hope to become a member of the Community, she must undergo a fundamental and radical transformation.

Commenting on the gold fever, the General expressed the hope that the "squalls" which had led to the devaluation of sterling, and which now threatened the dollar might end in the establishment of a monetary system founded on "the immutability, the impartiality, and the universality which are the privilege of gold."

He said it was "remarkable" that the total of US balance of payments deficit for the past eight years was precisely that of the total of American investments on Western Europe.

As had been expected, General de Gaulle maintained what has been his consistent attitude towards the Middle East conflict. At present, he said, the conflict was merely suspended, since the belligerents had not accepted the ceasefire imposed by the United Nations.

Any settlement must have as its basis the evacuation of territories which Israel had gained by force, the end of all hostilities, and the recognition of each of the States concerned. After this, there must be a new delineation of frontiers, a settlement of the fate of refugees, free navigation in the Gulf of Aqaba and the Suez Canal, and an international status for Jerusalem.

He maintained his intransigent support of French Canada to the extent of repeating, to the very tone of voice, his famous cry: "Vive Le Quebec Libre!".

The General took the matter even further when he said that, since the French Canadians aspired to become the masters of their own destiny, it would be necessary to change all the institutions of Canada, to wipe out "the Anglo-Saxon dominance" and bring about, perforce, a sovereign Quebec.

Rehearsal

Domestic affairs brought from the General a rehearsal of France's industrial economic and technological achievements, with the assurance that she had no reason to fear the lowering of tariff walls, which would come when the Common Market was fully operative next year.

He added that the first investment necessary was that in the growth of the population of France. That was why the country was "incessantly" adopting measures which would help the expansion of young families.

After de Gaulle? Somebody was crude enough to put the question. General de Gaulle was not abashed. "Everything has an end, and everybody ends," he replied. "It may be this evening, or in six months' time, or in five years' time, the legal end of my term.

"If I wanted to make some people smile or gnash their teeth, I might say in 10 years or in 15 years. But the last really I don't think possible."