Evening star., 1940-10-16
French Envoy Denies
.Vichy Police Spy
On Countrymen Here
Declares No Special
Effort Is Needed to
Learn Activities

Admitting that his government
was interested in the activities of
Frenchmen in this country. CASTOR
Henry-Haye, French Ambassador
here, last night denied reports that
it had sent secret police represent
atives to spy on and attempt to con-
troll them
He said no special effort was
necessary to discover activities by
French citizens living here against
the policies of the Vichy govern
ment because the sympathizers with
Gen. Charles De Gaulle, leader of
the Free French forces in London,
already were we'll known.
Describing the published reports of
secret police operations as "the first
serial of a detective thriller" which
he considered as entirely ridiculous
and without any foundation the
Ambassador added that such police
undertaking is absolutely contrary
to the fundamental principles of the
French government.
SdDS SpCCidl
He called special press confer
ence at the French Embassy Offices
last night to deny the reports and
issue statement clarifying the posi-
ton of four men who had been men,
toned in them as police operatives
believed to be functioning in New
York. ,'..,.-s. t..--
One of them still was in France
so far as he knew, the Ambassador
said. another is an assistant military
attache at the Embassy here, an
otf1er.1s enronte to Toxic as an As
sistant naval attache and the other,
John Musa. is an old friend who be-
came a naturalized American citizen
% years ago.
Mr.. Henry-Haye said that Mr..
Musa now gave him some personal
assistance when he went to New
York, but had no official connec-
ton with the Embassy. He de-
scribed Mr.. Musa as a native of
Switzerland, who, as an American
citizen and engineer, lived in France
for many years. The Ambassador,
a former Mayor of Versailles, said
he became acquainted with the en-
gineer there. He denied that Mr..
Musa ever had been head of the
Versailles municipal police, as he
had been described in first reports,
sarcastically pointing out that Ver-
sailles recruits its police force
among French citizens
The Ambassador also denied re-
ports from Gen. De Gaulle's head
quarters in London that German
mission had approached French
Guiana from the Brazilian border
and that attempts had been made to
send officials of the colony who SYM
pathized with Gen. de Gaulle to
Devils Island.
In response to questions at his
press conference. Mr.. Henry-Haye
said the Vichy government naturally
was interested" in the activities Of
French citizens wherever they might
be. because they were subject to
French law as long as they were
ClllLellS Ol rIdllCe.
Text of Statement.
The text of his statement con-
cerning the reports of secret police
representatives being sent here fol-
lows:
Several newspapers have pub
lished the first serial of a detective
thriller reporting that the French
government had sent to this coun-
try, under cover of the French En-
bassy, private detectives with in
struction to terrorize other French
citizens living in the United States.
The French Ambassador considers
this story as entirely ridiculous and
without any foundation.
He further states that such police
is absolutely contrary
to the fundamental principles of
the French government. The So
called detectives. who were named
in some newspapers, were supposed
to be a Mr.. Guichard. former chief
of the Paris municipal police;
Mr.. Musa, former chief of the Ver-
sailles police, and Messrs. Daru and
Sicard.
Mr. Guichard, who was at one
time chief of the Paris municipal
police and who retired several years
ago, is now between go and 10 years
old. He is probably living peacefully
in France, as no French official