BREACH GROWING.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 265, 21 August 1941, Page 5

BREACH GROWING.

VICHY AND FRENCH PEOPLE. . i * “DARLAN MISTRUSTED.” LONDON, August . 19. Further signs of the widening of the gulf between Vichy and the French people may be seen in the announcement' that several French senators and Deputies, long deprived of any parliamentary right's, have now been put under administrative arrest for open criticism of Marshal Petaui s Government. ' This is reported by a correspondent of “The Times” who was formerly with the ; French forces. ":Ho adds 'that’Admiral Darlan, ruling only through the power of his police; -backed up by the Gestapo and the German Army, is mistrusted and hated.'Walls throughout France bear the inscription “Down with Darlan!” , Marshal Petain arouses mixed feelings of respect and pity. His influence is negative. He prevents or delays revolt, hut is unable to create true collaboration. Within the Government itself, the men of Vichy dislike and mistrust one. another. General Huntziger,' Secretary for War Affairs, detests Admiral Darlan; the personal position of General Bergeret, the Air Minister, is precarious; M. Bartlielemy, the Minister for Justice, is honest, but is regarded as uncourageous; General Nogues, Re-sident-General in Morocco, is waiting, ready to support the strongest side. General Weygand, Commander-in-Chief. in North Africa, is the greatest Vichy enigma. It is believed that Admiral Darlan will not dare to take up arms against the Allies against the almost unanimous will of the French people. Vichy action in Syria is extremely unpopular, and relinquishment of the bases at Casablanca and Dakar to the Germans would he a challenge to the French nation and the French Army,

Tho Vichy correspondent of the Associated Press of Great Britain says that a sabotage scare is gripping the Paris press as a result of sabotage to railways and factories. “L’Oeuvre” declares that tho workers are partly under the influence of Bolshevik and Free French propaganda, summoning them not to produce for Germany. This has brought about a state of affairs in French industry where the quality of work has gone down and productivity is low Marshal Petain,, addressing tho Council' of State in Vichy, when Ministers and officials swore allegiance to him personally, declared: “You are either for me or against me. The time for hedging is past. Only a few senseless persons dream of a return to the regime in which they were profit tvrs. I am convinced that the national ;evolution will triumph for a greater. France and a greater Europe.” A correspondent of “The Times ’ on the French frontier quotes a Swiss dispatch from Berlin stating that the Germans have announced that French prisoners temporarily liberated for the harvest are' now definitely free. More than 1,000,000 French prisoners are still in German camps, mostly engaged in harvesting or in factories. Because of the war against Britain and general requirements, it is impossible to grant further liberations.