PARIS LETTER

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 165, 27 May 1940, Page 3

PARIS LETTER

NEWS FROM FRANCE From our Paris Correspondent. PARIS, April 1., The withdrawal of M. Daladier came as a great surprise, made greater when it was learned that he had felt obliged to decline to form a new cabinet. As soon as it was known, a reaction set in, and on all sides his friends appealed to him to carry on. It was perhaps something of this sympathy that caused the reception of his successor, M. Reynaud, to be so cool. After the very narrow vote that the new premier received on his first contact with the Chamber of Deputies, it was thought he, too, would resign. But M. Reynaud decided to fight on. and that decision at once brought him sympathisers. Overnight his stocli went up, and though he startwith so small a majority his chances of staying in are considered more than fair. It is pointed out that the ministry that lasted longest, a little over 3 years, at first had only a small vote. It is interesting to recall that the Third Republic itself was only by a single vote majority in 1875. It was intended as a temporary standby Waiting for the Due de Chamberd to mount the throne of France. He, however, wanted the tricolor to be changed for a return to the white flag of Henri IV, which put him right out of the running. The chair of the president of the Assembly that voted the Third Republic was so arranged that it was all ready to be used as a throne. Small Significance. The significance of the withdrawal of M. Daladier and the small vote given to his successor was naturally misinterpreted by the Germans, who at once put up notices in front of the French outposts inviting all the misguided French soldiers fighting Wicked Great Britain's war to put aside their rifles and return home. The impolite French replied with sMrp gun fire. The significance of the whole parliamentary incident is determination to win the war. The abstentions of Deputies, which caused M. Daladier to withdraw, was not an act of hostility to his government but a warning hint that more energetic action was expected of him and if, when M. Reynaud presented a large ministry, where it had been thought he would come before the Chamber with a smaller cabinet, as had been clamoured for„ if he got so small a vote it was again because energetic action was being called for in the prosecution of the war. He soon made it clear that he had included a war cabinet within the ministry, a war cabinet large enough to deliberate effectively , small enough to act promptly. His broadcast speech to the nation was well received, and as he is known for his energy and decision, his majority, It is expected, will grow rapidly. Determination to Fight. Whatever the change, one thing Is unchanged and that is the determination of France to fight on, side by side with Great Britain, to victory. France is little interested in trying to fill in the blanks of the cross word puzzle of what Signor Mussolini said to Herr Hitler. All ?he is interested in is that no French soldier is going back to the old nightmare of mobilisation every six months, and no one is going to stop lighting until definite and concrete guarantees have been obtained against any possible return of German'aggression. After that, and not before, France will be willing to discus®," peace terms with anyone who wknts to collaborate and not dominates The way will be hard— It is expected that it will be hard— but the French have set their hand, to the task and will not waver. n a mm Perhaps after all peace is not too far away. It certainly did not look far away at Easter in Paris. But for sandbags and uniforms, with many British among them, it might Jiave been peace time Easter. Children in the Tuileries Gardens looked wide-eyed at the barrage balloon crouching on the ground like a great green animal, and little boys in the Luxembourg Gardens explain ed the machine gun nests, but soon turned away to run to the Guignol, the punch and judy show, at the clanging of the showman's bell, or to hire small model sailing boats and set them on the artificial lakes and shout with excitement as their white sailed ventures skimmed towards the splashing fountain in the middle,

British soldiers in greater numbers came to Paris, and with the warmer touch of weather they were able to enjoy the pleasure of sitti,ng at the small round table outside the cafes on the Boulevards and watch the wonderful crowd go by. The R.A.F. looked particularly smart, but one wonders why they always walk so quickly, almost flying. The British soldier at Easter got everywhere, and was to be f)e,eoi in the Bois de Boulogne, along beside the Seine, as far south as Montparnasse and as far north as the summit of Montmartre, where from the steps of the church of Sacre Goeur he had a panorama view of all Paris at his feet. Military police, with their red hats, were something new for the French, and they looked very dignified and serious. One little Parisienne with a small knowledge of English explained to her friend that "M.P.' 0 meant Member of Parliament. • t • • Quite a number of British soldiers on leave got out to the Bois d)o Boulogne early on Sunday to see the team of British junior runners competing in the international junior cross country against teams representing France and Belgium. Though Aaren, the young Yorkshire champion, came in first after a fine race in which he ran with his head as much as with his feet, the French won the event with a fair margin * with eight men in the first ten. The Belgians were right out of it, and appeared to lack experience in big events. m m m • Two places popular with the British troops on leave were the Sociai Centre, in the Champs Elysees, and the Leave Club* on the Flac de la Republique. Here an S.O.S. had to be sent out for dancing partners, responded to very willingly by a number of Red Cross nurfas only too happy to oblige, and everyone -had a jolly time, Lady Moore looking on smiling and happy. She is doing a great work at the Leave Club, a work which brings her memories of the last war. Little incidents give an idea ol how much this war is everybody's war in France. The "Aute," a French daily sports paper, printed a paragraph that a well known French boxer on leave, came with his manager, also on leave,, to pay them a< visit, and the manager announced that another of his team would be arriving in a couple of days, also on leave.