The cabinet of Robert Schuman, supported by a Third Force coalition of Socialists, MRP, and Radicals. After a brief period of economic stability, a renewed rise in prices and corresponding demands for higher wages temporarily deprived the government of Socialist support and thus led to its fall. André Marie and Schuman both tried unsuccessfully to form a lasting cabinet.
To exploit the country's economic difficulties, the CGT initiated another wave of strikes. Its cause was weakened however, as the political, pro-Communist motivation of the strikes became obvious and the government took strong countermeasures.
