RESISTANCE BY FRENCH

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23055, 25 June 1940, Page 9

RESISTANCE BY FRENCH

War Committee Set Up In England SUPPORT FROM COLONIES (UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION —COP YRIGHT.) (Received June 24, 10.30 p.m.) LONDON, June 23. The following statement was made in London to-day:— “The signature of the armistice by the French Government brings to an end organised resistance by the French forces at home, but in the French Colonial Empire there are encouraging signs that a more robust spirit prevails. “General Mlttelhauser, the French Commander-in-Chlef in Syria, has proclaimed the determination o£ the French forces to fight on, the. Governor-General of Indo-China (M. Brevie) has declared that he will not lower the French flag, and the ResidentGeneral in Tunis (General Nogues) Is firm In his Intention to continue the struggle. In Morocco, Senegal, the Cameroons, and Jibuti, assurances of loyal support have been received from the military or civil authorities,” “A French National Committee will be formed in agreement with the British, representing the interests of the country, and resolved to maintain the independence of France, to honour the alliances to which she is committed, and to contribute to the war efforts of the Allies until final victory. The composition 6f this National Committee will be made public immediately.” This statement was made by General de Gaulle, in a broadcast from London on Sunday evening. “The armistice accepted by the Bordeaux Government is a capitulation,” said General de Gaulle. “This capitulation was signed before all means' of resistance had been exhausted. This capitulation delivers into the hands of the enemy, who will use them against our Allies, our arms, our aeroplanes, our warships, and our gold. This-capit-ulation utterly reduces France and places the Government at Bordeaux in immediate direct dependence on the Germans and Italians. “There is no longer on the soil of France herself an independent Government capable of upholding the interests of France and the French overseas. Moreover, our political institutions are no longer in a position to function freely, and the people of France have, at the moment, no opportunity of expressing their true will. “Consequently, though force majeure, a French National Committee has been established which will account for its acts either to a legal, established French Government as soon as such a one exists, or to the representatives of the people as soon as circumstances allow them to assemble in conditions compatible with liberty, dignity, and security. The French National Committee will get in touch with such bodies in order to call for their participation in its formation. “The French National Committee will take under its jurisdiction all French citizens at present in other countries,and 'will assume the direction of all military and administrative bodies who are now or may in future be in this country. The war is not lost. The country is not dead. Hope is not extinct. Vive la France.” The “Daily Telegraph” says General de Gaulle’s decision to form the National Committee was reached late on Sunday. The majority of the French Embassy staff in London and the French Missions working in collaboration with the British war departments will transfer their activities to the committee. . . General de Gaulle said in an interview that the constitution of the committee would be decided as soon as certain important Frenchmen arrived. “I do not suppose I will head it,” he said. , Responses to his appeal are pouring in from Frenchmen in England, including the Michelin Company’s 10 French departmental heads. The Calcutta correspondent of “The Times” reports that French citizens met at Chandernagore and passed a resolution rejecting the forced armistice and undertaking to continue the fight by every means with Britain. GERMAN'- VERSION OF RESULT BASIS OF ATTACK ON ENGLAND (Received June 25, 2 a.m.) .BERLIN, June 24. Authorised sources refuse to comment on the armistice terms published in London, saying only that France will be of no further use to Britain, The “Voelkischer Beobachter” describes the armistice as a basis for Germany to obtain the best possible positions and means with which to attack England, and also the basis for a very considerable extension of German territory at the later peace conference. This extension will not only include Alsace-Lorraine, but will enable Germany to dictate German principles of peace on the Continent. ACTIVITY BY R.A.F. GERMAN AIRPORTS BOMBED LONDON, June 23. The latest British air communique states that British bombers attacked enemy aerodromes in German-occu-pied France and destroyed hangars and aircraft. British fighters were also. active, shooting down one Messerschmitt 110, and probably destroying six others. One British machine is missing. It was also disclosed that two German bombers were brought down in the balloon barrage in last week’s raids on Britain. These losses are in addition to those already reported. A Berlin message says that three incendiary bombs were dropped on the Babelsberg railway when Allied aeroplanes raided Berlin early yesterday. The damage was negligible. It is learned from Berlin that 5,000,000 inhabitants of the city and suburbs on Friday night and Saturday morning rushed to air-raid shelters. Bombs which fell near Babelsberg hit one official building and several houses. Numerous fires broke out. A hospital was damaged by splinters, but nobody was injured.