FRENCH 'HONOUR.'

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 154, 1 July 1940, Page 8

FRENCH 'HONOUR.'

SULLIED BY PETAIN.

Broke Faith With Refugees And Britain. WETOAND VISITS NEAR EAST. British Official Wireless. (Received noou.) RUGBY, June 30. Weekly journals discuss the armistice accepted by Marshal Petain, and are unanimous in regarding the capitulation of France as complete. The "Spectator" says: "France has put herself, or the Bordeaux Government has put her, by the tragic prodigality of its Mirrcnder, unreservedly in Germany's hands."

The "Xevv Statesman and Nation"' considers attempts of Marshal Petain and his colleagues to maintain that they have saved France's honour. "Honour," it says, "i.4 a much abused word. It is not dishonourable to lay down arms in a hopeless situation, but asks: What other word tha<i dishonour can be applied to an agreement to hand over to the Nazis the refiigeee jo whom France had-given protection?"

That may involve the massacre of some of the" noblest men and women in Europe. With Spaniards who may soon find themselves in the same case, these militant fugitives from Fascism number several hundred thousands.

"The other act of dishf rour aff'.-cts us as Allies of France, for Mr. Churchill, when at last he had to face the fact that the French were incapable of further resistance on their own home soil, agreed to release them irom the pledge to conclude no separate peace if they would firet send the French Fleet to British ports. There was time enough for this, but Marshal Petain has consented to hand over the ships to the enemy." Area Harked On Nazi Maps. The "Spectator" also draws attention to a point of interest, that the area of occupied France, under the armistice terms, turns out to be precisely the same as the area, of France marked as to be brought permanently under German domination in maps found early in 1939 among the papers of Herr Heslin.

The "Daily Telegraph", says that General Weygand, tne French Generalissimo, presumably at the instigation of Germany and Italy, flew to Beirut on Wednesday and induced General Mittlehauser French Commander-in-Chief in the Near East, not to continue resistance.

General Weygand is imposing on all a policy of general surrender, so that he will be able to force a fulfilment of the armistice terms.

A dispatch from Jerusalem says it is understood that the French administration of Syria and Lebanon will continue. The forces in Syria would have fought on if there had been an alternative Government, but in its absence the soldiers had worries about their families in France. This swayed their opinion from earlier enthusiasm to realisation of the necessity for collaborating with the Bordeaux Government.

The Polish Government has made it known in London that the Polish brigade from Syria has joined up with the British forces in Palestine, says the British official wireless. When it became apparent that General Mittelhauser might throw in his lot with Bordeaux, General Sikorski gave the Polish brigade in Syria orders to join the British Army in Palestine.

According to reports received yesterday 6000 Polish troops, with full war equpiment, under the command of Brigadier Kowpanski, have crossed the frontier, and thus avoided being disarmed.