Evening star., 1932-05-01
NOCHANGE |SSEEN'
|NFRENCHPOL|CY
Foreign Attitude Expected to
Be Same Despite EIec-
tion Results.
BY CONSTANTINE BROWN.

III france may De II Is COnSlQereQ most
unlikely that they Will affect in any
reason 1t Is believed In well informed
quarters that most foreign observers
attribute an undue importance to the
result Of today's election.
For years the French political leaders
have been harptng on security first,
disarmament after" and Germany must
pay" to such an extent that it will be
practically impossible for any govern
ment, be 1t formed by parties OF the
Left or groups Of the Right, to change
in the slightest degree Frances present
foreign policy. The majority of the
people Of France are determined that
these two cardinal principles of foreign
policy should be carried out and will not
give mandate to any candidate who Is
likely to change or oppose them
Record Vote Expected.
A record vote is expected to be cast
today by the French citizens, who are
electing q new chamber.
The battle between the 10 parties
represented in the present chamber
has been at its height for the last 10
days. The leaders of three of the four
most numerous parties have refrained
from waging the usually fierce electoral
battle, because they realize that under
the present circumstances a coalition
cabinet might be necessary for the good
Of the country. The three parties which
may be called to cooperate are the
Radical Socialists, headed by Edouard
Herriot; the Republican Democrats,
headed by Louis Marin, and the Left
Republicans, under the leadership of
Premier Andre Tardieu and Finance
Minister Pierre Flandin.
The French election in normal times
Is characterized by q campaign Of vio-
lent words. The public and private life
of the leaders of the various parties
is carefully scrutinized and every bad
thing that could be said about the in
diyidual candidate Is brought out and
exaggerated.
No such campaign Is evident in the
present elections. 1t seems that while
the French people as a whole are not
fully aware of the dangerous inter-
national situation and are likely to
vote mostly on the merits of each
candidates platform regarding regional
interests, the leaders themselves realize
that it Is vital today that tacit gentle
mans agreement should exist between
the principal parties so that in case of
need national government should be
easily formed.
Parties Represented.
The following parties are represented
today in the French chamber The
Communists, with 10 members, led by
Marcel Cachin; the Socialists of the
left, with l12 members, led by Leon
Blum. This party is, together with the
Communists, opposed to the present
arN1f Of -
without going to the same extreme as
the Communists, Is the most radical
party In France.
The French Socialists, with 13 mem
bers, led by Lot de Monzie and Emile
Faure, are Of not much consequence, ex-
cept that they generally bother the gov
ernment when 1t comes to close voting.
As rule they throw their weight with
the Socialists.
The radical Socialists, under the
leadership of Edouard Herriot Camille
Chauternps and Edouard Daladier, is
one Of the most important parties in
the Chamber, counting lot members.
This party was advocating. at one time,
a policy Of rapproachement with Ger
many and general disarmament. 1t
had been in Office in 1924 and during
the administration of Mr. Herriot
evacuated the Ruhr. Its financial pol
icies, have, however, been disastrous to
France and after the fall of the cabi-
net, in 1926, Mr.. Herriot, in order to
show that he was a French citizen
before being a politician, agreed to ac-
cept a minor Office in the Poincare
Nationalist cabinet. The prestige of
this party has suffered much during
the last few years. but recently Mr..
Herriot, by adopting a more moderate
policy, especially regarding the question
of security first, disarmament after"
has increased the chances Of his fol-
lowers.
Only II members form the Republi-
can Socialist party under the leader
ship OF the former Prime Minister
Paul Painleve. This party, while con-
stituting a separate unit, Is fully in
sympathy with the policies Of the radi-
cal Socialists.
Left Independents.
A small group of 20 members under
Henry Pate forms the party Of the Left
Independents, which is the link be-
tween the parties called Of the Right
and those known as the Left. With
the Radical Left party headed by
Charles Danielou and Maurice Boun-
IOua-OuAuAb COllUdlAIAAiB 10 AACAlOSlo DO-
gins the great group called "the Right"
This group, while having different ideas
regarding various local problems, is
strongly together on the question of in
ternational politics and national defense.
Fifteen members under Henry Franklin
Boullion and Pierre Cathala form the
Social and Radical Left The Left Re-
publicanS, 64 stfong, are led by the
brilliant Prime Minister Henry Tardieu
and Etienne Flandin. They are gen.
orally supported by the Democratic
and Social Action party, numbering %
members, headed by Paul Reynaud and
Andre Francois Poncet.
The Popular Democrats, with 10
members, led by Auguste Champetier
de Ribes; the Republican Democratic ic
Union, with 80 members, headed by
Louis Marinand Georges Pernot and
the Independents, with So members,
headed by Henry Laniel and Desire
Ferry, form the group generally known
as the Extreme Right. The "Independ-
entS" contain all the members who
have resigned from the other parties,
with a sprinkling of royalists.
1t is between these parties and fac
tlons that the electoral battle has taken
place during the last few months. On
account Of the large number of parties
there are generally five, six or more
candidates for every seat in the cham
Der. To obtain a majority at the first
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III