Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-05-27
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ualiy seized new. territory and
added II 10 the French Empire.
usually without the foreknowl-
edge Of the people At home, and
certainly not with their con-
sent.
The reaction Of the home
government usually was To-
condemn the engineers OF each
new expansion but 10 accept
the new territory. The govern
ment failed 10 support the coll
onists. however. and vast ter
ritories-India. for instance.
and almost all Of North Amer
ica--were lost.
Colonists hated the home
governments apathy. French-
men in Paris wished the eager
celonists would quit.
Revolution Incomplete
Since the frst French Revo-
luton. Paris governments have
been weak. Historians say II
Is because the revolution was
never completed. II wasn't a
thorough overthrow Of old In
stitutions and attitudes. II was
an addition Of new ones.
France still has many mon
arehists. II has q clerical party
which wants to increase the
role Of the Catholic Church in
government and an anti-cler-
ical party which demands COM
plete separation. 1t has a
radical" party which thinks
the revolution Of 1859 was a
good thing and rightists who
wish 1t had never happened.
The revolution did not 60 far
enough TO give the lower
classes a real break, so they
have since added to the mix
ture Socialist and Communist
parties.
No one group has been able
to prevail over another. Any
direct course of action can be
vetoed.
Assembly Mirrors Society
The modern French Assembly
has been a faithful mirror on
French society. 1t has been
splintered in all directions and
die-hard on all issues. The
parties would accept a new
government only on the promise
Of a candidate that no new
policy would be tried. People
would accept the Fourth Re-
public constitution only when
1t was framed to leave the gov
eminent powerless.
All the factions could agree.
however. in their admiration /
for French culture. The whole |
world admired 1t, so this could |
hardly be called conceit. The |
world wanted French ideas
the American Republic was
based on them-and French !
men were convinced their |
civilization would be and should
be universal. ..-
This was important to the
colonial issues. For although
eolonialists could not interest
the metropole in making money
overseas, they could sell the
home folks on spreading the
French way Of life.
Wave Of Enthusiasm
After the war Frenchmen at
home and overseas decided |
what was left Of this empire |
should always remain French.
And all of the multi-color, !
multi-faith subjects should be !
Frenchmen and share in this
cultural heritage. A great emo
tional wave of enthusiasm went |
through France as postwar de-
crees declared all these peo-
pie to be full and equal French |
men
But, Of course, they couldn't |
be Frenchmen, and many of
them didn't want to be. Paris
let slide the promises and was
willing to abandon colonies.
But colonialists hung on as
tenaciously as they had built,
and forced France into wars
and brutal massacres and tor
turings--in Madagascar, Indo-
china and Algeria.
Paris managed to give away
such countries as Syria, Mo-
rocco and Tunisia, meanwhile,
and regretted to the depths of
its national conscience the ex-