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In his book *Bourgeois Politics in France 1945-51*, (Cambridge University Press 1995), Richard Vinen writes (p. 163) about Georges Bidault, a leader of the right wing of the Christian Democratic MRP (and later a conspirator against De Gaulle for his "betrayal" of Algerie Francaise) that various characteristics of Bidault put off many who might have supported him, including his "untidiness":

"Michelet claimed that when Bidault had been a teacher, a pupil had sarcastically offered to sew on one of his buttons...Attention to sartorial detail might sound a ludicrously trivial matter to discuss alongside serious political matters, but French right-wingers (whose formative experiences had been in strict Jesuit schools and smart regiments) took such matters seriously. Bidault's dress sense let him down again during the 1960s: General Massu justified his refusal to join the clandestine anti-Gaullist forces on the grounds that 'Bidault wore a coat with a fur lining.'" https://books.google.com/books?id=urcpK3my6CYC&pg=PA163

OK, so I finally got my POD for a successful anti-De Gaulle coup: Georges Bidault dresses better... :openedeyewink:
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