DEFENDING HIS BEEFSTEAK

Evening Star, Issue 22441, 11 September 1936, Page 1

DEFENDING HIS BEEFSTEAK

BEHIND THE FRENCH STRIKES .At the time of writing tho strike situation in France has improved sufficiently to permit consideration of the factors that produced it, and of the consequences that it is lixely to produce in its turn ” (writes Mr G. H. Archambault, in ‘ The Spectator,’ London). What caused these strikes? Sporadic effervescence which proved contagious ? Claims for better paid labour in better hygienic conditions? Economic aims, concealing political ends? The hand of Moscow stirring the cauldron? All these entered into play. _ But there was something more. And it is with that something more than the feature is concerned. To understand the strikes you must first grasp the meaning of Je defends mon bifteck! From a jocular catchphrase a few months ago, the expression has. come to indicate one of the main objects of life.’ To-day everybody is using it. It is the inevitable conclusion of every argument. To seize, its full significance you must call to mind the French bifteck. The Englishman thinks of steak in terms of pounds—large, thick, and juicy, a meal for a family. Here bifteck is weighed in ounces—small, thin strips for individual rations. Jc defends mon bifteek! implies: “Things have come to such a pass that I am compelled to act for the defence of my own interests. Everyone for himself and the Devil take the hindmost.”

Even the average bourgeois, more cautious by. instinct, but harder hit by sacrifices, is wondering whether M. Blum is not his friend after all. Not organised, frequently inarticulate, ho 1 also is venturing to speak of his bifteck. Disappointed by their own parties, many middle-class electors voted for Socialists in April and May, if only to see what happened. Should M. Blum succeed, it is possible to imagine the creation of a hybrid Socialist-bourgeois party of great power. Even the higher bourgeoisie is watching developments with interested perplexity, while it is averred that at least one duchess is n fanatical supporter of the Popular Front. This would not suit the Communists, and they have been quick to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the strikes, a certain number of which ■ doubtless they themselves engineered. For the Socialist Party has one great weakness; it is no closer to the masses than are the Radicals or the Moderates. Its appeal is wide, but its members are few if reckoned cxclu sivoly by those who regularly pay subscriptions, while in its councils there is a preponderance of intellectuals. The Communists, on-the other " cells ” wherever -there arc woi'acr*/, 1 not excluding the army and navy, /In' many instances, the “ cellk taneously took charge of the strikes as soon as they were declared.

The strikes have served to clarify the situation. They have shown what the Socialist experiment means, not only for the masses, but also for thft classes, and what is expected of it. The Blum Cabinet itself has reiterated that it will seek to satisfy these hopes while keeping within the framework of existing institutions. If it fails, if promises are not kept, if more fruitless sacrifices are demanded, if the Frenchman still feels constrained to defend his bifteck, a change of regime appears inevitable. On the surface the change would seem likely, to be in the direction of dictatorship, either Fascism or Soviet. Other trends are to be discerned, though yet indefinite The church has great force, and. its action among the masses is becoming marked. The .Croix.de Feu and other groups of war veterans are still in being. To judge from the personal prestige of M. Jacques Doriot, a French Communist Party which would repudiate Moscow is within tho bounds of possibility. There arc Frenchmen who would welcome a constitutional monarchy, though they confess that their Pretender is rather colourless.

But all this is conjecture.’ Should M. Blum succeed, it is idle conjecture. Should he fail, everything will depend on the circumstances of his failure, •