CALL TO FRENCH

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20623, 26 November 1941, Page 5

CALL TO FRENCH

MUST DECIDE NOW FORMER VICHY GENERAL LONDON. Nov. 24. _ In a statement from Washington in which he said that Vichy wished to hand over North Africa to the Germans, General Odic, commander of the Vichy Air Force after the Armistice, who has now joined General de Gaulle, said: —- “After the armistice I had hoped it would still be possible to folloAV Vichy’s policy with dignity. The maintenance of the empire’s integrity was a reason for the union of all Frenchmen, but, if this unity could be accepted under sufirance, it could not be accepted in abjection. “Some men have tried, but failed, through the intrigue and contemptuous indulgence of the victor. I have often thought of regaining my freedom, but I was still held by the hope of being able to preserve the integrity of North Africa. To-day, however, unity become an absurd fiction when it is used to destroy that which is its real aim to destroy. Hand Over Africa

“After the Syrian betrayal Vichy now desires to hand over North Africa to the Germans. All our colonies in that region are threatened with German occupation, with this added humiliation, that Frenchmen are asked to co-operate with the Germans in their plans. “General Weygand has resigned, and the time has come for everybody to' decide. France must not be obliged one day to pay for Vichy’s intrigue—France must not sit beside Germany on the bench of the accused. France must take her place among the judges. “That is what Frenchmen think to-day, but Vichy prefers civil war under the protection of the enemy. Under those conditions passive disapproval is not enough. French unity can be affirmed only through 'Free France. Under the command of General de Gaulle I now resume the fight.”