Evening star., 1941-06-05
Why Vichy Goes Axis

growing alignment with the Axis is
that it rests in part upon an ideolog-
ical basis. The Men of Vichy" who
today run France act not solely
under German pressure, nor merely
from immediate self-intereSt; they
also have a mental slant which pre-
diSpoSeS them to the totalitarian
attitude and methods. These men
represent the elements collectively
known as the Extreme Right, which
never accepted the republic. Their
ideal was always the older France,
before the great revolution of 1889,
which was royaliSt, clerical and au-
thoritarian. Their present attitude
is thus not sudden conversion due
to defeat and disillusionment. They
held it long before.
Until about decade ago, the
French Extreme Right was small
minority, influential and vocal be-
yond its size, yet politically negligible.
Andre Maurois has lucidly explained
how, largely due to the growth of
Communistic radicalism in France,
the Extreme Right grew proportion
ately as a logical reaction until by
the mid-l930s France, in a condition
OF latent civil war, was no longer a
democratic state when the
parties of the Extreme Left desired
the dictatorship of the proletariat,
and the groups of the Right some
sort of authoritarian government"
The military collapse of France a
year ago brought the men of the
Right into power. Their choice of
Marshal Petain as the new leader
was logical, for Petain incarnated
their ideas. To contend that the old
marshal secretly disagrees with Ad-
miral Darlan in his present policy
of cooperation with the Axis is
wiShful thinking.
Marshal Petain's real attitude is
clearly shown by few high lights
taken from a lengthy program
matte" statement which the marshal
gave out only a month after he came
to power last July and which was
widely reproduced In the French
press at that time Petain begins by
saying that his aim is to build a
strong state ION the ruins of the
monstrouS and flabby state which
collapsed under the weight of its
weaknesses and mistakes far more
than under the blows of the enemy"
He then denounces the corruption
and inefficiency of the Third Repub-
lie; assails the slogans of liberty,
equality, fraternity, and sketches his
new model state built on cooperative
lines much like the clerical FasciSms
OF Portugal under Salazar or Spain
under Franco.
Obviously, this is not German Ma
tional Socialism. But it is enough
like it to make cooperation pos-
sible. And that possibility Petain
patiently had in mind when he
wrote: Liberalism, capitalism and
collectivism are foreign products i'm
ported into France. France, restored
to herself, rejects them quite nat
urally. She understands today that
she was misled in trying to trans
plant to her own soil institutions and
methods which were not at all
meant for her sun and climate. And
when she examines the principles
which made her enemies victorious,
she Is surprised to recognize in all
OF them little of her own self. ="
Thus we shall see how we can articu-
late our thought and our action with
those which tomorrow will preside
over the reorganization of the
world"
Those lines were written nearly a
year ago. If Petain, Darlan and
their colleagues have not sooner
come out for cooperation with the
Axis, 1t was due. not to moral re-
pugnance, but to prudence. Now
that they think the time is ripe, they
are acting in accord with their own
ideas. There seems to be no escape
from this unpleasant conclusion.