The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-11-02
France And Expediency

French recognition Of the Franco govern
something France or rather the DeGaulle
faction in London, opposed vigorously when
Martinique was minor issue. Joseph c..
Harsch recently went into the matter with his
customary clarity. Said he: '"The reports that
General de Gaulle's new French Government
has found it expedent to extend diplomatic
gIme put strain on the facial muscles Of
some individuals in our State Department.
Nov, it seems, expediency is on another
foot for good authority exists for believing
the reports in spite of French Embassy de-
malls that diplomatic recognition of Franco is
involved Not that there isn't good reason for
expediency, in this case Washington is well
aware of the reasons and inclined to be SYM
pathetic over General de Gaulle's problems
His military establishment is new and small.
1t is suffering from the same supply difficult
ties which are cramping all Allied operations
against the Germans.
TT has, nevertheless, been given the very
considerable task of containing and reducing
the German garrisons which are holding out
along the Bay of Biscay coast There are
80 600 well equipped and well entrenched
Germans in St. Nazaire and LOrient; 20, 800
La Rochelle and another $4,000 at the mouth
Of the Gironde River blocking the Channel to
the port of Bordeaux. There are still supposed
to be dozen German submarines operating
in and out of La Pallice. german communi-
que claimed sorties by the garrison at the
mouth of the Gironde.
The French have asked for American or
British troops to help them with these Ger
man garrisons and have been turned down.
They have asked even more hopefully for
heavy artillery and ammunition. They have
been told that all of central and southern
France is their responsibility and that they
will have to handle it as best they can.
THE corollary of all this is that the French
Government simply does not have any reserve
strength when it faces SPAIN
Under these circumstances, it is not SUR
prsing that one of the first official acts of the
newly TcCOSIuLcu EIcHCu government was to
agree to an exchange of diplomatic representa-.
tives with General Franco. And Washington
would be the last capital to assume from such
M exchange any basic fondness in Paris for the
regime in Madrid which served the Axis cause
80 well.
ut is taken for granted that Paris will want
to see return to liberal and democratic gov.
eminent in Spain as soon as it can be brought
about. But French initiative in bringing about
such change is hardly indicated at an earlv
date by the act of opening Paris to an Am.
bassador from the Caudillo of Fascist Spain
And the matter now rests heavily on French
initiative. The issue is on the physical border
of France and any action to precipitate /
change in Spain affects France more material.
ly than any one other Allied nation. Therefore
Washington and London are both likely to con-
suit France carefully before taking steps them.
selves.
Europe is left, however with the anomaly
Of the French Government in Paris EXCHANGING
Ambassadors with Madrid while Spaniards who
have been fighting in the French forces Of
Resistance, and are nominally at least under
paris command, are actually fighting Franco
troops IN the Spanish side Of the border -