What the French Think.

Hokitika Guardian, 28 March 1923, Page 4

What the French Think.

(liv 11. G. Car.lozoL PARIS. ; I i-'ren. !i polities an ! I 1 reta-u puh.ie : j opinion have more to do vita tin- I'rob- j : lent of i-eparat inns titan i- generally j [ I. it own outside I- ranee. ! The altitude whi.'h In: - b.’en Liken . ■ up. In dilf.-l.'llt ITell.-ll Pi-emii'l-. -i'l.-e ' ilie signing ol lhe Pi-ac.- I realy in ; It 1-0 l;as, in .-vei, case, been dietal. I | , I-.. Iliac, ill - ! I .-lid ol Ui-.-ueb pub- j I lie opinion. W hi.-h la- always vi. w.-:l i ! will. Il " great, t .lisl-ive"r tlte grant- i ! m; . .-0n... .-'■i-’u- to («-o.i:.iii Erem-h pebll'-iaii and the Ereli.-b pu'.-iir have 11 in. lined lo view the . I,!. --1 i• 11 of r.-a-'iraii.ius as a rab.-r simple matter. Every fi'r.'Uchniau has I.:-'.! the ..pp o tunii v of seeing lor him- - elf tbe damage dime bv llm war in the North and East ef Eiam-e. an I it fim- seemed to him a matter ol I meutary jiistiee that (icM’lllaiiy should j fie i-all.-d upon to iaiv for it. j M hat has haupetietl actually ha- In on j tla-t Kreach capitalists and -mcll j UreM.'li in.-e a urs leli! I lie I'relic!: i Coven.ment jn.-t under £1 .ti'.lll.lllltl.PTl \ to ]-:ifor the first half of the resioratiou of the dev:: •itcd i-egioii-. and fori Eren'-h war pensions, while Germaip. , lia-. not paid a single farthing. This default might have h'.’ii under-! stood by the Krone!, nation if (Lunianj industry and Gerimin financier- were j ruined. But the r. . er.-e is the ea-e. I Ce.-nmn irede i- itouris|,ni;; and Ger- j ni,-ill f-i.-i cries are working overt i me, i Hooding the world’s marl-el with goods and injuring Allied trade prospect-. Ii is this, iho l '.Toro, that is respan sil.le for Ibe unanimous sentiment in Kranee that Germany musi fie made to pay, and that any Prime Minister who to e .nce-sions is not l oliilliii" iiis duty to hi- .. ,11111 ry. Already two I'Y.-u.-h Premier;- have fallen bcause tlu-ir program),,,, ol action lia- been thought to be too generous towards Germany, and now M. Poin.-aie him-elf i- approaching the most critical stage of Ids temiie of .Jibe. lie firs been fortunate enough to win over a large body ol l-’rciu-h p.iblic j opinion to a moderate and pa. ilie pro- i gramni.' of aetioii. lie has done tbi-! liy boldly staling ibat lie wi.-lie- lo act : will; the Allies, but llait ii' necessary; be w ill exact guarantees front tier- j many alone and unaided. On the siieet-s, of bis pkinx far a p.eae. lid seiaii!.- of guarani r-•- in the Ruhr and elsewhere will At. Poincare l. judged when the l-Yeneh ( .fiamber nie.’Ls tor its first soring session of 1£23. atioul the tldrd week, in this m. oil li. Ii iiiii s t lie .remembered that though the ]-,resent l-’reii. b Premier obtained a ! huge vote of conti teuee in il.e Chamber tile other day. it was in reality not so much a vote of e.jniidem-e as a deelnralion vliat the I'Teneb ( lian.ber was <gniiig to “wait and see.” That !- wb\ he rteeiv.'.l such widely differing support as that of M. Ileiriol, the clii.-i of the left parties of the Chamber, and M. Baudot, the ultra-Koyali-L on the right of the assembly. M. Poincare i- supported by the "Bloc National.'' or great centre group, of the Chamber almost entirely in the hope that ins foreign policy may prove successful. The slightest sign ol hesitation nr weakness in that direct ion would mean for him a speedy adverse vote, as M. Poincare s homo j polities are not viewed with favour by | the great majority of the "Bloc X:t- | tional.” 'lbis party, which contains all that j i- in.-delate in Ereiu-li polities, is looking forward with some anxiety to the j general elections lo be held in No-j vein her. Before that period they wish j to have a drastic change of Govern- j ment AI. Poincare has displeased them hv T refusing to displace radical prefects in | the provinces. The members of the j "Bloc National,’’ who are well aware j of tl;e importance of the prefect in I time of elections, are waiting for a | suitable opportunity to put m powe r : a Prime - Minister and a Minister o! | the Interior who will prove more, amenable to their own polity. So far they have voted for M. Poincare only because Lo has seeme-.l to them to be the best man to deal with * the present complicated foreign polities , ] of France. j