Evening star., 1941-05-16
Vichy Goes Axis

The men now directing the des-
TIMES of France appear to have taken
a final decision which calls for
extensive collaboration with the Nazi
conquerorS. Henceforth, from pres
ent indications, France at the least
will be the passive ally of Hitler in
the effort to break British resistance.
And at the most, it is by no means
inconceivable that, having gone this
far, the men of Vichy may be induced
to throw the weight of France ac-
lively into the battle against Britain.
With a touch of unintended irony,
Marshal Petain, aged head of the
French state, calls upon his people
to follow him blindly and without
question on the road of honor and
national interest" This is significant
language, for it indicates that the
French people may not be so willing
as their government to forget the
honorable obligations arising from
their alliance with Britain, nor so
ready to pin their hopes for the
future on Nazi benevolence. 1t was
against this background of pre-
sumed dissatisfaction on the part
of the people of France that President
Roosevelt cautioned the Vichy gov
ernment against violating the terms
of its armistice by further collabora-
ton with the Germans, and appealed
directly to the French people to
resist any policy of their government
implying their alliance with a mill
tary power bent upon the destruction
of liberty, freedom and popular
institutions everywhere" 1t remains
to be seen what results, II any, will
be forthcoming from this appeal, but
1t Is difficult to see where the French
people have any substantial freedom
of choice.
Just what specific concessions the
Vichy government may have made
to the Nazis Is much less important
than the nature of the agreement
itself. There can be no doubt that
Vichy has definitely aligned itself
with Germany and its Axis partners.
Now that this crucial decision has
been made. the course is set and we
may expect to see a whole series of
steps taken In the same direction, as
time and circumstances may dictate.
There seems to be no escape from
the iron logic Of the situation.
This inevitable trend was forecast
in the official communique announc-
ing the governments decision, which
concluded: THE effect of these
negotiations will be felt soon" In
deed they have been! Already, Brit
ish information at Cairo announces
that numerous German planes with
disguised markings have landed at
airports in Syria, refueled and taken
off in the direction of Iraq. 1t should
be remembered that, technically,
Syria is not part of the French
colonial empire but French-held
mandate of the League of Nations.
Furthermore, France recently re-
signed from the League. In this
situation, colorado pretexts could be
devised, at least for home consump-
tion, that concessions to Germany in
Syria would not compromise Frances
colonial position and prospects.
The British government is under
no illusion as to the meaning of what
has happened. Anthony Eden, For
eign Secretary, has officially warned
France that she will be held re-
sponsible for granting Germany un-
neutral privileges in Syria, and
London intimates that the Royal
Air Force will attack German planes
on or over Syrian soil. Even if the
former Allies do not eventually find
themselves formally at war with each
other, Anglo-French relations are
bound to deteriorate rapidly in the
near future.
Certain, too, will be the deteriora-
ton OF relations between France and
the United States. This Government
could only regard the bringing Of
Frances colonial empire, and par
ticularly Dakar, under German con-
troll as a threat to our security. II
this is to be the future shape of
things the United States will have no
choice but to take determined action
to protect it's interests prospect
which implies far more drastic steps
than the seizure, already ordered, of
the fourteen French vessels in Amer
ican ports.