Evening star., 1949-10-07
French Cabinet Crisis

The proffered resignation of Premier
Henri Queuille presumably terminates
cabinet that has lasted more than year
an unusual feat in postwar French
politics. It's life was always tenuouS,
because it was a coalition of three parties
with divergent ideas, especially on eco
nomic matters. This trio were the Social
lists, the Popular Republicans, and the
Radicals-who, despite their name, are
really laissez-faire liberals. The bond
uniting them was negative one-a COM
mon determination to keep the Commu-
nists and De Gaulhsts from splitting
France on extremist lines and precipitat-
ing a politico-social crisis perhaps culmi-
mating in civil war.
This middle-o of the-r road coalition could
work together as long as the dominant
issues in French politics were political.
from politics to economics. Despite i'm
provement In business and finance,
Frances economy, like that OF other
European nations, rested on insecure foun-
dations. To begin with, there was the
chronic unbalance between France and
the dollar area, unredressed by Marshall
Plan aid. Domestically, there was an
unsound budgetary condition, revenue
being insufficient to cover expenditures.
Both of these factors were tnflationary,
resulting in steady rise in the cost Of
living which bore hardest on the working
classes. That, in turn, resulted in labor
pressure to increase wages, which, II
granted, would quicken the inflationary
spiral
That was where the coalition govern
ment threatened to fly apart. The
Radicals wanted to freeze wages and
prices, and to make cuts in the budget,
in order to lessen the trend toward inf1a-
ton and promote financial stability. But
the Socialists were for higher wage rates
and against budget cuts because they
were the champions OF labor. Indeed, they
felt that unless they took that stand they
would lose out to the Communists, who
were promising labor the moon, regardless
of consequences to the French economy
which they wanted to smash In order to
promote the chaos from which they might
hope to profit And the Socialists, though
much reduced in parliamentary strength,
had Just enough seats in the Chamber to
prevent a middle-of- -the-road cabinet
from existing without their support.
This wage-price split had long been
latent. It. was precipitated by Britain's
recent devaluation of the pound sterling,
which forced similar devaluation of the
franc. But franc devaluation, while 1t
aided French exports, increased the price OF
imports vitality needed to sustain Frances
economy. Since most of those imports
came from the dollar area, it meant
further rise in living costs. And that, in
turn intensified labor demands for higher
wages. When Premier Queuille and his
Radical colleagues refused to grant Social
ist proposals for wage increases, the
Socialists Withdrew their support and the
political fat was in the fire.
French parliamentary politics are re-
sourceful, and it is not impossible that
another middle -the-road cabinet may
be patched together by reshuf1ing OF
personalities and mutual compromises.
None of the three parties involved wants
to open the door to the waiting extremists.
Yet it is hard to see how any fresh COM
bination, however clever, can do more
than adjourn an eventual showdown on
economic attitudes and policies so incom-
patible. Sooner or later, Frances eco
nomic problems must be resolutely faced.
It Is to be hoped that this will be done
realistically rather than in terms OF
partisan politics. To do that would be to
court disaster on the political as well as
the economic plane.