POLICY OF FRANCE

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 301, 15 September 1933, Page 11

POLICY OF FRANCE

Review by M. Daladier DISARMAMENT PROBLEM M. Daladier, the Prime Minister, reviewed the whole field, of French policy in a speech delivered recently at a political gathering at Apt, in the Department of Vaucluse, which he represents in the Chamber. M. Daladier referred at the outset to the difficulties his Government had encountered from the day they assumed power. At the root of them lay financial disorder. Already in February the first measures of reform had been voted, and for the first time since 1926 the volume of national expenditure had beetf reduced. The deficit had been diminished by more than 10,000,000,000 francs, of which economies alone had accounted for nearly 3,000,000,000 francs. If conditions remained . normal the Treasury had sufficient means to meet the normal payments falling due. Next month the first half of the British loan would be' repaid. The new Treasury loan was intended as preparation for payments falling due In the autumn, anil was merely an act of precaution. Turning to foreign policy, M. Daladier said the Government had made the League of Nations the pivot? of their actions. Resolutely in favour of peace, they repudiated all policy of Nationalism, isolation, or illusion. They believed that no Government had the right to interfere in the affairs of another State on the ground of differences in political regime. They themselves would not tolerate similar interference in their own national life. But when a human problem was raised in the international field the French Government would always raise its voice in favour of the spirit of liberty and justice, as it had done recently at Geneva. Disarmament. As for M. Daladier continued, France had defined her position and had given real proof of her desire to reduce her armaments,. even before the. dlscussionse had finished. The Government had accepted the British draft convention as a basis of discussion, they had welcomed President Roosevelt’s contribution, and they appreciated the progress made by the defining of an aggressor as formulated by the Soviet Government. The adjournment of the conference was none of their doing. They had only agreed to it in order that useful conversations might be carried on with the aim of bridging other differences that might have led to the collapse of the conference, to wb*ch they were opposed. The position of France was quite .plain. The Government were ready to take part in simultaneous disarmament, but they must be certain.that disarmament was not a trap. They also demanded the institution of a strict, permanent, mobile, and automatic control of the manufacture and trade in arms by private persons. This control must also be applied to all militarily organised formations, which, must be suppressed as soon as possible. He did not believe that the conclusion of the Four-Power Pact should imply the conclusion of a policy. The work would continue, and they intend- ' ed to carry on the cordial conversations with Italy, from whom they had been separated by misunderstandings that had gone on too long. The Chamber ■ had approved unanimously the pact of non-aggression with Soviet Russia so courageously signed by M. Herriot. Since then military attaches had bedn appointed, and an exchange of useful conversations on economic questions had been in progress. .They were working to restore ties with the United States; upon which they set. great value. If a divergence of views persisted upon a single point, at least they were working to dispose of it. Finally, was it necessary to say that their diplomacy was In friendly and constant association with that of Great Britain? Whether at Geneva, in Paris, or in London, the relations he had had with those who directed British policy had been of the most cordial character, and had often permitted both countries to adopt a common course. Economic Policy. Turning to the present economic problems, M. Daladier said that France desired neither economic isolation nor autarchy. The Government were convinced that the return to economic stability and stable exchanges was a function of the stability of currencies. This -was the principle they had advocated, in London, and they would continue to advocate it. It must triumph if they were to adjust those controlled agreements between producers which constituted one of the surest remedies for the world crisis. Side by side with these international conventions, which implied concerted action with regard to the organisation of production, the French Government hud put forward a policy of extensive international public works and the adoption of the 40hour week. The Government, convinced of the necessity for closer association of the interests of the mother country with oversea France, and North Africa in particular, were hastening on the Franco-Colonial Conference by the process of Inter-Ministerial meetings, in order to organise production on complementary lines, and to put an end to bulk production of goods competing for the same markets.

The remainder of M. Daladier’s speech was devoted to domestic questions, including the protection of agriculture and commerce, the reduction of unemployment, and the maintenance of national defence.