VICHY INTRIGUE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 124, 28 May 1942, Page 7

VICHY INTRIGUE

DILEMMA FOR HITLER

Signs Of Revival Of Spirit

Of France

Special Correspondent. Rec. 1 p.m. LONDON, May 27. David Low sums up the situation in France in a cartoon showing a pompous Mussolini sitting on a struggling Laval, who is lying on a prostrate Petcin. Hitler squats directing them and holding sheaves of papers marked "More collaboration." Low's caption is "The Squeeze Process." There are various views of the position, one being that Laval knows that Mussolini cannot act without Hitler's consent, while Laval may have received some assurance from Hitler, probably in return for promises of help for Germany. Another viewpoint is that Hitler is faced with the dilemma of reconciling two evasive junior partners for he wants to squeeze the maximum advantages from both, but he has to balance the Italian military against the French economic collaboration. Events on the Russian front may make military help from Italy more immediately valuable to Germany than the long-range dubious advantages of economic aid from France. There is also the opinion that, despite I.aval's fawnings, Germany realises that she has failed to make real headway in securing French collaboration in the prosecution of the war, since Laval came to power, active resistance and sabotage has increased and Germany's western front is less secure than six weeks ago. Laval's Bad Bargain There is such a maze of intrigues in Vichy that summing up the position is most difficult, but from the Allies' viewpoint there are definite and encouraging signs of which the chief is that France is steadily recovering her spirit, aided by doubts as to whether Germany can win the war, even if helped by the French Fleet. One American view is that history may show that the St. Nazaire raid may have been the turning point for France, for the townspeople hailed the commandos as liberators and arms appeared from nowhere. Generally the opinion is that Laval has so far made an extremely bad bargain for France, for Vichy and even for Germany. There are signs that events are moving too fast for him, that unless he guides and dominates them more, his. days of power may well be numbered.