Danger of Civil War

Evening Star, Issue 21640, 8 February 1934, Page 9

Danger of Civil War

Fierce Street Fighting in Paris Heavy Casualty List Other Towns Affected Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. PARIS, February 7. (Received February 8, at 1.10 a.in.) French newspapers now declare that the deaths at least are between 20 and 29 and the injured 1,000.

10,ODD EX-SERVICEMEN STRUGGLE WITH MILITARY A GRAVE OUTLOOK LONDON, February 7. The ‘ Daily Mail’s ’ Paris correspondent says:— “ llioters still controlled the centre cf the city early this morning. The fiercest fighting occurred at the Place de Concorde, especially at the bridge, which 10,000 ex-servicemen attempted to cross, advancing with skill. Tho men were familiar with trench fighting.

The guards’ horses were blinded by sand thrown into their eyes, the sand being gathered from dumps at the riverside. Finally a Republican Guard trumpeter sounded warnings equivalent to the reading of the Riot Act in England, and immediately the guard, with drawn swords, charged in a terrible melee, “ The rioters used knives to hamstring the horses, and wrested swords from the fallen mounted men and used them for an attack in a struggle which lasted two and a-half hours. Several demonstrators were killed and many police injured, the struggle culminating in a final rush to the Chamber, when the police fired on the ,mob, which retreated and left many on the ground, which was littered with the bodies of horses. “ An attempt at 11.35 to storm the Concorde bridge was frustrated when the police opened heavy fire, wounding many. The police cleared the Place de la Concorde, the crowds going along the Champs Elysees and firing as they went. Blind panic prevailed. Here ‘ The Times’s ’ correspondent narrowly escaped death and 1 The Times’s ’ photographer was shot through the hat. Meanwhile firemen with difficulty drove the mob with hoses from outside the Chamber of Deputies.” 1 The Times ’ says: “ To-night’s event may be the death knell of the existing order. M. Daladier’s unhappy trial of the strong hand may have robbed the parliamentary institution of the credit ho endeavoured to preserve.” PRIME MINISTER’S PROCLAMATION SECURITY OF STATE THREATENED PARIS, February 7. M. Daladier issued a proclamation after midnight stating that proof had been obtained from those arrested that an armed attempt would be made against the security of the State. An emergency meeting of the Cabinet decided on immediate legal action against the leaders of the riot. M. Daladier had a long conference with the President before going to the Ministry of the Interior, where he also conferred with the public prosecutor. A charge of provocation to murder lias been launched against Charles Maurass, editor, with Leon Daudet, of the Royalist paper ‘ Action Francaise,’ which called on Royalists to demonstrate against the Government. M. Sebour, Police Prefect, has prohibited all street gatherings and processions. Republican Guards cleared the Place de la Concorde with revolvers and sabres. The spectacle at the Concorde bridge was frightful, scores of men and horses being wounded. The total of those who were injured in to-night’s riots cannot be less than 1,000. The Place de la Concorde was finally cleared at 1 o’clock in tho morning. Communists set fire to motor buses everywhere. Deputies left the Chamber in small groups by a hack' door leading to the Rue do L'Uuivcrsite.

At 2 o’clock rioting was proceeding in the Gardens Tuilleries, a crowd smashing marble urns, statues, and stone benches. OTHER CITIES AFFECTED TROOPS POURING INTO PARIS PARIS, February 7. It is reported that anti-Government outbreaks have also occurred at Marseilles, Lyons, Lille, Nancy, Nantes, Rouen, Arras, and Dijon. Newspaper correspondents still besieged the Chamber at 9 o’clock. Troops are now, at 3 o’clock, pouring into the centre of Paris. It is reported that M. Daladier wished the President to sign a decree instituting a state of siege, but this has not been confirmed. Two companies of colonial troops are guarding the Ministry of the Interior for a “ council of war ” with M. Frot and other Ministers. MUCH DAMAGE TO PROPERTY 89,000 DEMONSTRATORS LONDON, February 7. The ‘ Daily Chronicle’s ’ Paris correspondent estimated that 60,000 demonstrators were concerned in the disturbances, which are likely to be renewed to-night, despite the police banning of street gatherings. The police assert that the demonstrators opened fire first, but the Paris correspondent of ‘ The Times ’ says that this is doubtful as many of the demonstrators were ex-servicemen, while others w'ere youths and hardly likely to possess weapons. M. Daladier issued a statement saying that the Government’s appeal for calm was observed by war veterans, who refused to associate themselves with professional agitators. On the contrary, certain political leagues sought to achieve a coup de force against the Republican regime. Proof had been obtained of an armed attempt against the security of the State, and measures had been taken to prevent a further attempt. The estimated damage to property is £36,000. About fifty motor cars, ten omnibuses, and tram cars, and forty newspaper kiosks were burned, and food shops looted. IN THE CHAMBER PRIME MINISTER DEFINES GOVERNMENT’S POSITION A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE PARIS, February 7. M. Daladier, standing on the tribune in the Chamber of Deputies, awaited silence and eventually was able to deliver a declaration, proposing a parliamentary commission of inquiry in connection with the Stavisky case and merciless punishment of all whom the commission denounced. He affirmed the retention of the gold standard and declared that the Budget must be passed. He promised to deal with unemployment and renovate tbo antiquated fiscal system, and reaffirmed France’s desire for peace and security, and adherence to League friendships. He finally denounced the Deputies for wasting time, announced that he would accept no interpellations to-day, and made the motion a vote of confidence. M. Tardieu protested that tho Government had introduced the menace of Fascism. The Communists shouted “ Gorgouloff,” recalling that M. Tardieu was Prime Minister when Gorgouloff assassinated President Doumer. Finally M. Daladier moved the closure, whereupon the Chamber affirmed confidence in the Government by 302 votes to 204. Meanwhile thousands of Camelots Du Roi, Syndicalists, Communists, Socialists, and members of the Fiery Cross and extremist ex-servicemen’s organisations gathered in the neighbourhood of the Hotel do Villo, shouting “ Down with the Government!” “ Imprison Chiappe 1” The excitement increased as darkness fell, and hooliganism broke out in the Rue de Rivoli. Tobacconists’ kiosks were overturned and set on fire. A mob in the Place de la Concorde set fire to a motor bus, private cars, and newspaper vans which formed barricades. They also set fire to the Ministry of Marine, of which several offices were burned before the fire was extinguished. Mounted troops charged repeatedly, using their sabres. The mob was prevented from reaching the

Chamber of Deputies by mobile police, who fired, wounding 200 and, according to reports, killing several. The rioting continues. TENSE SCENES IN CHAMBER SITTING SUSPENDED PARIS, February 7. It was the sound of police volleys which re-echoed in the Chamber, in which also could be heard the roar and tumult of crowds singing the ‘ Marseillaise,’ which made the final stages of the debate almost impossible The noise of volleys caused tense silence, and then uproar, in which M. Detastes, followed by M. Tardieu, rushed to the Tribune and shouted that the prelect of police had ordered the firing. Deputies of the Right, led by the blind ex-serviceman M. Scapini, attempted to obtain from M. Daladier a declaration that he had not authorised the firing. M. Daladier retorted that the disturbances • d not represent the true wishes of the ex-servicemen, and the demonstrators must not supplant the Government. Eventually the sitting was suspended after a second vote of confidence, but the Chamber was in a state of siege, and nobody was able to enter or leave. The rioting continued in many famous thoroughfares, which were darkened owing to the destruction of the street lamps. A crowd in Faubourg St. Honore, enraged at the efforts of the police and firemen to control them, smashed a cafe opposite the British Embassy till the police charged and cleared the street. All the cafes were speedily closed, and chemists’ shops were filled with wounded, including police volunteers. Private cars, flying the Red Cross, picked up the injured. A lady’s maid who was looking out of a window of the Hotel Crillon was accidentally shot in the head and critically wounded. The injured include M. Marchand, head of the municipal police, who was in charge of the operations under M. Sebour, and a Right member of the Municipal Council, who, with his colleagues, assumed tricoloured scarves and marched at the head of the rioters, but turned back when beaten by the police. The ‘ Echo de Paris ’ says that the Daladier Government has provoked civil war. It is officially admitted that about 200 demonstrators and a similar number of police have been treated in hospitals. Mounted Republican Guards suffered more than the other forces, being easy targets for brickbats. The official figures do not account for the injured who went home. There have been 350 arrests. GOVERNMENT RESIGNING " TO AVOID BLOODSHED " PARIS, February 7. ((Received February 8, at 10 a.m.) M. Daladier announced that the Government was resigning to avoid bloodshed. M. ■Doumergue has refused to form a Cabinet. Despite Press assertions the official cffsualty list repeats that six civilians were killed, three Republican Guards are missing, 170 civilians wounded, also 180 police, 130 Republican Guards, and 100 mobile guards wounded. NATIONAL GOVERNMENT URGED PARADES AND DEMONSTRATIONS FORBIDDEN PARIS, February 7. (Received February 8, at 11.40 a.m.) M. Daladipr’s resignation followed the utmost pressure from many quarters, the Deputies declaring that otherwise there would be a death roll of 100 to-night. A largely-attended meeting of the Right groups, including M. Tardieu and M. Laval, decided to ask the Senate and the Chamber of Presidents to urge the Government’s resignation and allow the formation of a national Government. The Government has forbidden parades and demonstrations to-day. The loaders of the demonstrators are furious at last night’s shootings. They say they will bring revolvers to-night. The Government,has ordered the confiscation of ‘ Action Francaise ’ for an editorial in which M. Daudet (editor) says: “ At the decisive hour we will be happy to shed our blood if necessary for your deliverance and the salvation of tlie nation and wipe out this regime which they call a republic for the restoration of <v king who alone can free yon.” HEART-BREAKING SIGHTS. The city was full of heart-breaking sights this morning. The Place de la Concorde was littered with iron bolts, bricks, and lengths of iron piping. The street lamps were smashed and escaping gas fills fhe air. The number of deaths is still a matter of conjecture. ‘ Action Francaise ’ says fifty, the ‘ Journal ’ between twenty and twenty-nine, and the British United Press sixteen to seventeen. The police state that 700 people were arrested, of whom forty were detained. Some of the hospitals were so crowded that the injured lay in the corridors awaiting treatment. All accounts emphasise the ghastliness of the fighting. The hamstringing of horses made the streets slippery with blood. The horses, maddened with fear and pain, chased around tho Place de la Concorde, turning tho streets into pandemonium. STATEMENT BY M. DALADIER 4 REASON FOR GOVERNMENT'S RESIGNATION PARIS, February 7. (Received February 8, at noon.) The employees ou the Bourse slopped work at 1.15 this afternoon, -and shouted uninterruptedly for quarter of

an hour: " Daladier to the gallows ” and “ Murderer.” Vast crowds in the Place do la Bourse joined in. Tho police looked on smiling. Suddenly the giant letters of an illuminated sign flashed out: “Daladier resigns.” This was received with thunderous cheers, after which the Bourse resumed work. M. Daladier, in a statement, said: “ The Government is responsible for order, but refuses to assure order today by exceptional measures which might involve bloody suppression. The Government does not wish to employ soldiers against tho demonstrators, consequently it has resigned.” RIOTING RESUMED. . At 3 o’clock in the afternoon rioting recommenced in the Boulevard Hausmanu, when the police were dispersing a mob in pursuance of prohibition of street assemblies. SHOPS IN FASHIONABLE QUARTER LOOTED RINGLEADERS TO BE CHARGED PARIS, February 7. (Received February 8, at 11.50 a.m.) M; Frot declares that the mob’s spirit is unparalleled since the-Revolu-tion producing the Third Republic. Cabinet has decided to charge the ringleaders with treasonable activities and provocation to murder and incendiarism. Twenty magistrates throughout the night took prisoners’ depositions, which are believed to include the names of several politicians and exPremiers as ringleaders. Further accounts of rioting disclose that the mob attacked famous places like Claridge’s, the Cafe Weber, and looted all shops in the iashionable thoroughfares in the neighbourhood oi the Rue de Rivoli, the Rue Royal, and the Champs Elysees. All shops and Government buildings are now strongly guarded. M. Frot received a deputation of exservicemcu and war (victims, which presented a manifesto declaring anguish and indignation at last night’s scenes. The manifesto adds that the demonstrators were simply singing tho ‘ Marseillaise ’ and marching in tho streets as a protest against the scandals daily revealed when the mobile guard surrounded and repelled them, wounding and killing several without provocation. It declares that the demonstrators were unarmed, but after such provocation will come to-night ready to defend themselves.

HISTORIC ASSOCIATIONS

IBy H.M.S.]

Both tho Place de la Concorde and the Tuileries, where most of the Paris rioting appears to have taken place, were intimately connected with the French' Revolution and with the history of France. The Place de la Concorde was laid out under Louis XV., and a statue of the King once stood on the site now occupied by the obelisk, a present from the Khedive of Egypt to Louis Philippe. The King’s statue, however, was desti’oyed by tho mob in 1792, 'and a vear later, on the pedestal where once it had stood so proudly, was placedtbe guillotine towards which Louis XVI. went so calmly and courageously, a victim of tho sins of his forefathers and the passions of his people. Nearly 3,000 aristocrats perished in the same way on this spot. Napoleon frequently reviewed his troops on the Place do la Concorde, and listened to their songs of victory. In 1814, when the allies entered Paris, a Te Deum for his downfall was sung in the same place. Across this famous square rode Charles X. on horseback on his way to Rambouillet, where lie abdicated, and from where he went into exile. Louis Philippe, the last of the French kings, stole out of tho Tuileries Gardens in 1848, and escaped across the Place de la Concorde. Placed around the square are eight statues representing various provinces. For years after the war of 1870 the statue to Alsace-Lorraine was draped with wreaths of remembrance. In 1914 the lost province was regained, and the wide splendour of the Place de la Concorde resumed its former glory with the removal of the wreaths. The Tuileries Gardens were laid out in 1065 by the classical gardener-archi-tect, Le Notre. The Tuileries Palace, built in 1564, under Catherine do Medicls, was for many years the residence of French royalty. Napoleon 111, was the last to use it as a royal residence. In May, 1871, when the Commune could not hold out any longer against the troops of Versailles, the insurgents set fire to the Tuileries, and it was burned to the ground. The Louvre flanks the gardens, and the story goes that Catherilie de Medicis, the mother of Charles IX.. waved a handkerchief from a window in the palace, and a moment later, from tho bell tower of Saint Germain I’Auxerrios, was rung the signal for the massacre of the Protestants on Saint Bathoiomew’s Eve.