The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-12-30

lowest ebb since the 1871 defeat and siege of Paris. Politically France is tied to the wheel of a chariot which is leading her to places she never expected to find herself. Politically France Is bound to a policy of continental collab- 9ration and a European new deal which even the most optimistic member of the cabinet could not imagine receiving the approbation of one Frenchman in four,
 Living From Hand to Mouth
 Materially, France is flat on her back. Her great stocks have gone, those tremendous stocks of wool, rubber, coal copper, iron as well as the vast reserves of wine, coffee, fats and cilS, She lives from hand to mouth, and the hand like the mouth Is frequently bare. Her m- dustries have nothing left she is fed by Germany with the iron, steel, coke and coal she needs. Even Germany cannot furnish the rub Der, wool, cotton, copper, alloys oil, gasoline and the toodstutfs she sorely needs,
 Completely an economic priS- e or of Germany, France is bound b. her neeos to do what she Is told, Completely deprived of poliu- cal Independence of action, France heeds the hand which feeds her, In exchange for coal coke, Iron and steel to keep her factory wheels turning ancl her workers employed, France has to align her policies in the direction of the European new deal,
 Fundamentally, France is tm- changed but the British blockade has brought her to her knees and she is obliged to bargain for her daily bread, France cannot turn to her empire, to America or to Brit ain; the blockade is airtlght ard at this yearend even tighter than last year,
 NaziS Hold Many Prisoners
 Tot single Ffenchman of the forty million In continental France eats to hiS hunger today The aver age Frenchman in the street has not ne-tenth of the liberties of his father. He Is governed by a regime in which he has not on echo of n voice.
 One reason for this Is the fact that 100000 Frenchmen are still prisoners of war in German prison camps and tails, They are hungry and unclothed, their families are without support In most cases. To better their lot, France Is prepared to make many sacrifices,
 The past year has been marked by q definite swing towards contin- ental collaboration by the Vichy regime, by a drain of reserves which haS brought France to her knees in poverty, by trend towards auth. oritarianiSm in the domestic rec gime, by drift away from America from Democracy and from the traditional liberty, equality and fraternity which formed the watch- word of the French republics, The past i2 months have conSecrated the collapse of the old order in France.
 At the start of l94l. France was still under the spell of the Dec, i3 coup, Laval had been overthrown l8 days before After hLs liberation by the Gefmaus--who sent two car loads of German machine gunners to Vichy to emphasize Berlins de- mand for Lavals iberation--Laval had gone back to Paris. By May, however, Darlan had succeeded In planting himself firmly in Laval's shoes Rs a collaborationlst ard had been received in Berchtesgaden by the Fuehrer.
 Lose Syria to British
 The first consequence of that voyage to Berchtesgaden was a Franco British conflict in Syria. Forty days later Sir Henry Malt land Wilson and General de Yer. dilhac signed pact which har ded over Syria and Lebanon to Britain. That was the major event of i04l in French foreign relations.
 Of secondary importance was the occupation of French Indo- China by Japan as the conSequCnce of an agreement freely ratified by France. In reality, that was merely the second phase Of an accord which Vichy had made With Tokyo the previous August. To prevent an Angl) -Sino American attack on the colony Vichy told France --Japan was invited to come In and help defend 1ndo- China. The accord was most unpopular throughout the country.
 FNaVRanekinalfNt marked by a series Of cabinet shifts which finally brought into power Pierre Pucheu and inc "Synarchy" bloc of young natIon- alists who are more or less pledged to . pro- German and pro-Euro. pean policy.
 WeyEand Overthrow Unpopular
 During tho last months Of the year, the whole situation was dom- mated by the Weygand crists and It's consequences. Gen. Weygand . was . popular hero second only to Petain. He was admired by the country at large as Q protege of Foch. His overthrow, at the de- fnand of the Germans, was the most unpopular act of the year.
 Labor Charter Scuttled
 Late in Octobe. the government announced its Labor Charter. which outlawed both strikes ard lock- outs and made forced arbitration obligatory. But the Charter ran up against the powerful Socialist and Communist syndicalist move ments and at the year-end it was just another document littering the desk.
 Petain also completed his Con- stitution. ;,roviding for the re- establishment of 10 French prov- inces of the Bourbon kings and a central government, however. 1t has been subjected to so much that 1t may never be en- acted.
 The third act of the triolcgy epon which Petain hoped to build his new regime was the creation, %. Of a great national