A FRENCH TEST

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 76, 26 September 1940, Page 12

A FRENCH TEST

SYMPATHY AT DAKAR

NO BRITISH ATTEMPT AT

COUP D'ETAT

ONE ALTERNATIVE

LONDON, September 26.

Remarking that it was important to try to get a clear view of what had been happening at Dakar in the last day or two, a London commentator said that the operations had not been in any possible sense a British attempt to make a coup d'etat against French possessions in West Africa. Instead, it had been a French attempt, to see whether that particular part of French Africa sided with Vichy or with freedom.

It had been essentially an all-French business. General de Gaulle had thought that a large number of Frenchmen and natives of French territory in Senegal supported the Free France movement and would welcome his arrival. He had good reason to think this because French Equatorial Africa had thrown in its lot with him so decisively a few weeks before.

The reasons for the British Government's good will and support were, firstly, that they were anxious to help General de Gaulle in every way possible to extend the influence of the Free French movement; and, secondly, because information had been reaching London about the spread of German influence in Dakar. It had never been a question of British ships sailing against a French port by themselves, but when the leader, of Free France thought that the moment had come to win over Senegal from the Vichy Government the British Government supported him enthusiastically.

The reason why the French cruisers were not intercepted between Toulon and Dakar was that they were steaming from one Vichy port to another, but when they started to steam southwards again, presumably aiming at interference with the situation in French Equatorial Africa they were going from a Vichy port to a de Gaulle port. Hence their interception by the Royal Navy.

As far as General de Gaulle himself was concerned, as soon as he found that the Vichy Government and the German advance guard made it impossible for him to land in West Africa without undertaking a major operation of French soldiers fighting French soldiers, he .very naturally and very rightly retired. There was no other alternative.

It might turn out, however, the commentator remarked, that the resistance to General de Gaulle did not represent the whole feeling in French Senegal, and it was more than likely that his expedition might prove to be decisive there in the long run, although at present it appeared to be a failure. The expedition had at least shown the might of sea power, which the German High Command had failed to appreciate. General de Gaulle's headquarters in London announced that the situation in Dakar had considerably changed since his departure from London and the passing through the Straits of Gibraltar of the French battleships which probably had on board not only the crews of the ships but trained forces adhering to Marshal Petain. These troops probably replaced those in Dakar which, it is known, were favourable to the Free Frenchmen movement. A great number of the Generals supporters have been arrested lately by the Governor, who is completely under the control of the Germans and Italians, whom he greeted with open arms.