
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, February 21, 1994                   TAG: 9402210088
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ASUNCION, PARAGUAY                                LENGTH: Short

WOULD-BE DEGAULLE ASSASSIN DIES AT 71

Georges Watin, whose attempt to assassinate President Charles de Gaulle was portrayed in the novel and movie "The Day of the Jackal," was buried Sunday.

Watin, 71, died Saturday of a heart attack at his home in Asuncion. A small group of friends attended the burial.

Algerian-born, Watin fought against the Algerians' war for independence and opposed de Gaulle's decision in July 1962 to grant the North African land its sovereignty.

On Aug. 22, 1962, bullets shattered the windows of de Gaulle's limousine as it drove through a Paris suburb, but the president was unscathed.

The assassination attempt was the basis for Frederick Forsythe's 1971 novel "The Day of the Jackal," which was made into a movie.

Watin was condemned to death in absentia in 1963 but pardoned by an amnesty law in 1968.

After fleeing to Switzerland and later to Spain, he settled in Paraguay in 1965.

by CNB