Evening star., 1952-05-31
French Police
|Hit Reds With
Series Of Raids
Arms Are Seized
In Crockdown on
Porty's Quarters
BY the Assoclored rress

PARIS. May 31.-French police
cracked down hard on the Com
munists today with series of
dawn raids on Red party head
quarters and Offices throughout
the country. The Ministry Of In
terror said arms and ammunition
were seized in a number Of cities.
A raid on the headquarters Of
the Communicated General Con-
federation of Labor in Toulon un-
covered cases of cartridges loaded
with buckShot, the ministry said.
Toulon was the scene last night
OF bloody rioting in which several
police were injured.
Steel-helmeted police, armed
with Submachine guns, bounced
on Red offices Throughout PayaS
In other simultaneous raids. ana
searches in other sections were
still going on.
Red leaders apparently knew
they were coming, however, and
managed to burn most of their
documents and reports. Police
seized what remained.
Six Paris Groups Raided.
The Interior Ministry said six
Communist organizations had been
raided in Paris: The Central Ma
tlonal Headquarters of the party.
the Union of French Women. the
Seine Department Federation
Headquarters of the party, the
Association of Fighters for Peace.
the Association of Former Franc
Tireur and Partisan Fighters and
the Union of Republican Youth of
France.
"A considerable stock of black
jacks similar to those used in We'd
nesday nights anti-Ridgway DEM
onstrations" were found in the
Union of Republican Youth of
France Office, the ministry said.
Tear gas squads -spearheaded
the raid on the party's national
headquarters in Paris. leading to
speculation Communist diehards
were barricading themselves in
headquarters rooms. Communists
barred the doors of some offices
and police had to call in lock-
smiths or climb through windows.
Marks Tough" Policy"
Tqday's raids were the latest
turn in the governments new
"get-tough" policy against the
Reds.
They followed the arrest earlier
this week of Frances No. Red.
Jacques Duclos. now in prison on
charges of plotting against the
internal security of the state.
DucloS, secretary-general of
Frances Communist Party, and
hundreds of other Reds were ar
rested in connection with Wednes-
days bloody riots spanked by the
arrival of Gen. Matthew B. Ridg-
way to take over Gen. Eisen-
hower's Allied command.
When police arrived at the
party headquarters in Paris to-
day, Communist officials hastily
barred the door. A locksmith
was summoned to force the door.
At the same time a ladder was
raised from a truck so police
could force their way through q
window. All the buildings win
dows had iron shutters and were
barred from the inside.
Smash Into Labor Quarters.
Other police squads pulled up
in front of the headquarters Of
the CGT and demanded entry.
When they were refused they
smashed open the door. Detec-
tives went through the offices
seizing various papers.
1t was the CGT which tried in
vain to drum up general strike
IN protest against Duclos' arrest.
At the headquarters of the
Fighters for Peace" a Commu-
nist-line organization on Rue des
Pyramides, police moved in with
out opposition.
The police backed up a 3-ton
truck to the door of the main
Communist headquarters, and
steel-helmeted officers began haul
ing small bundles of papers out
of the big stone building.
The police grabbed all photoe-
raphers the moment they arrived
on the scene and hauled them
away in a truck.
Duclos Is Transferred.
Duclos was moved last night
from Suresnes jail to Sante prison
in Paris after his lawyers claimed
the Red chief--a diabetic-was
ailtng and needed his physicians
care. They also handed over to
the appeals court a letter from
Duclos accusing the police, the
examining magistrate and the
public prosecutor of false arrest.
Police also have charged 156
other Communists or fellow trav-
elers with plotting against the
state as result Of Wednesdays
outbreak.
McC Cormick in London