AIMS FOR FRANCE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 34, 10 February 1943, Page 3

AIMS FOR FRANCE

UNION ESSENTIAL De Gaulle Outlines Basis For Agreement British Official Wireless Rec. 1 p.m. RUGBY, Feb. 9. . General de Gaulle to-day gave his views on a possible basis for agreement with the authorities in North Africa and how to achieve his aim —the union of the Empire of France. "At the outset," he said, "General Catroux has gone to Algiers at the instance of the French National Committee to arrange the means by which a liaison with General Giraud's administration could be maintained."

Discussing his meeting with General Giraud, he said, "The main question is not one of agreement between two generals, but one of greater seridusness and importance—that of the union of the Empire and the liberation of France within the framework chosen by France.

"The aims of France are to drive the enemy out of the country, reestablish the Republic and assure the triumph of the ideals of the country. It would be impossible to realise that on the basis of an agreement between two generals. What we want is something much wider. We must agree on a minimum, and that must embrace the fundamental aims of liberation in the wider sense."

Asked on what basis North Africa could be brought within the Empire, General de Gaulle said, "If in North Africa, as in the remainder of the Empire, the laws of the Republic were brought back and reinforced, and if the fundamental principles of liberty were restored, that would bring about a union."