Paris. During a state visit by Italian Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani to President Charles de Gaulle, the latter praises France’s preparations for the launch of the first artificial satellite from France. Fanfani, handsome as the sun, says he’s happy for them and that the Italians had already successfully done so a few weeks earlier, and that he wishes the French the same success. The Italians had, in fact, launched a satellite with an American rocket from Wallop Island a few weeks earlier. De Gaulle immediately calls an adjournment of the meeting, summons his men, closes the door, and shouts can be heard from outside. A few weeks later, the French Minister of Scientific Research resigns.
