The Press Monday, December 8, 1930. French Politics.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20105, 8 December 1930, Page 10

The Press Monday, December 8, 1930. French Politics.

;■ the fall of the French Government is surprising, it is so because M..Tardieu appeared to have strengthened a very shaky position. A few weeks ago the defeat of the Government was being confidently discussed by the French Press, which has chafed under the continuation of the Briand foreign policy. but the opposition of the Left, which has demanded a policy still 1 tore pacific instead of less was given a sharp setback by the success of Herr Hitler's Fascists in the German elections, and there were hopes of the Government s being strengthened by the adhesion of the Radicals. There was even a promise of benevolence from the Socialists, on condition that the combination of Centre and Radical politicians did not lean too far to the Right. But M. Tardieu has been, like many other French statesmen, obliged to look in too many different dix'ections for support and unable to be confident of obtaining it in one without losing it in another; id in sucfi vague politicul situations it is perhaps useless to look for clearer or more convincing reasons for his overthrow than are reported in the cable message. It is possible that the Government has been incommunicative about foreign policy, feanng to raise disturbances: in reporting on the French delegation's work at the League Assembly it kept M. Briand in the background, even though he had been at pains to make an unusually nationalistic speech. But complaint against the Government's "neglect " of lationnl defence, whether it is true or not that the air force has not been kept up to the highest standard, is exceedingly curious, in view of the French attitude at the London Conference and of the fact that the defences on the German and Italian frontiers have been enormously strengthened. As for France's suffering from " one of the worst eco- '• nomic crises ever experienced," this only means that France is feeling in n slight degree the effects of the much worse depression in other countries. At the end of October French trade returns were markedly better than they hail been, though not as good as the year before; and the evidence of revenue returns v.-as most encoui-aging. The yield for September from indirect taxation and monopolies was 205,000,000 francs above the estimate, and completed a surplus under that head of 1,004,000,000 francs for the half year. From scheduled and general income tax the revenue for the month was 119,000,000 francs above that for September of last "year. It is not, in fact, the economic situation which is disturbing, but the political, in so far as it denotes a revulsion against the pacific international policy of M. Briand.