MANY ARRESTS IN FRANCE

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23810, 2 December 1942, Page 3

MANY ARRESTS IN FRANCE

RESULTS OF GERMAN OCCUPATION FRONTIERS GUARDED (Rec. 11 p.m.) NEW YORK, Nov. :!0. ‘•Arrests and internments are multiplying fast in France, - ’ says the Berne correspondent of the “Nev York Times.” General Gamelin is reported to have been placed in a German fortress. General Doyen, a former French representative on the Armistice Commission, and M. Rene Massigli, a former delegate to the League of Nations, have been arrested. Many more arrests are expected, since Germany and Italy have ordered Vichy to eliminate elements which brought France to her present situation. “The frontiers are guarded to prevent disbanded soldiers from fleeing to Switzerland and Spain to avoid service with the Tricolour Legion, which is enlisting recruits for service alongside the Germans in North Africa.” Reports from France indicate growing anger at Hitler's breach of faith in occupying Toulon, states the diplomatic correspondent of the “Daily Express.” Frenchmen seem to be entering a new phase of resistance to the Germans—not for the sake of Britain or the United States, but for the sake of France. Marshal Petain’s position has been greatly weakened, although the Germans may prop him up in office and use him to try to keep France quiet. Marshal Petain still commands the respect of Frenchmen because of the memory of his great days. Observers in London believe that Hitler’s decision to enter Toulon was an act of desperation. His fifth column had informed him that although there was a strong anti-British feeling in the French fleet, the antiAxis feeling was stronger. Hitler knew that the French were determined to scuttle their fleet if the Axis attempted to take it over. “When the British and Americans landed in North Africa, Germany demanded that France join the Axis and declare war against the Allies, but the French Cabinet, by eight votes to six, refused,” states an American Associated Press correspondent somewhere in Europe. He learned this from a

French diplomat who has just left the service of Vichy, "The British and American landings were a complete surprise to both Vichy and Berlin, leaving them without a plan of action.” the correspondent states. "The German demand for a declaration of war was rejected after a turbulent 18-hours’ Cabinet meeting, in spite of M. Laval’s urgings. The German authorities were reluctant to enter the unoccupied zone of France, because they lacked sufficient troops, and they feared the reaction of the people, but they acted on the orders of Hitler himself. Toulon was finally occupied because Hitler feared an Allied attempt at a landing there upon the invitation of the French naval commander. ' “A diplomat said General Weygand s whereabouts were still a mystery. It is believed that the Germans have kidnapped him and held him as a prisoner in Germany, Marshal Pctain is attempting to obtain General V eygand’s release through private negotiations.” Mr Churchill’s Birthday.—Messages of congratulation on his sixty-eigVuh birthday reached Mr Churchill from all parts of the world yesterday, the first being from M. Stalin.—Rugby, November 30.