FRANCE WITHIN

Grey River Argus, 3 May 1944, Page 2

FRANCE WITHIN

Resistance to Enemy WASHINGTON, May 1. The French Delegation in Washington reported that the Committee of Resistance in France has called a general strike from 1 a.m. to noon to-day. The Committee issued the following proclamation: “Patriots! Let this first of May—the last May Day to be celebrated in the humiliation of occupation—be marked by vigorous united action.’’ RUGBY/ May 1. M. Venot, French diplomatic delegate in London, stated to-day that two months ago the Germans started large scale operations against the men of “Maquis.” In the Jura Mountains near the Swiss border, 20,000 German soldiers started an attack on April 22. According to the messages so far received, 400 Germans have been killed and 600 wounded'. Generally speaking the German losses were higher in these operations than those of the Maquis men, but the Germans had considerable success in destroying part of the Maquis movement. Altogether at least 80,000 Frenchmen had been killed by the Gestapo and 312,000 interned. The new, drive for labour has failed. Laval in January promised to mobilise 300,000 youths by April 1 to help the Germans building fortifications. Only 500 were found for that purpose. One means of frustrating Laval’s design was the theft of posters calling up an entire class. M. D’Astier, French Commissioner for the Interior, gave a grim picture of conditions in France to-day, says an Algiers correspondent. The food position, he said, has been greatly aggravated in recent months. The 2,400 calories per nerson necessary to health have been reduced to 1000 calories. The meat ration last month was 175 grammes. The health situation, he said, was becoming critical. Ten to 20 per cent of the people .sent to the health centre at ClermontFerrand suffered from intestinal tuberculosis, 40 per cent from pulmonary tuberculosis and five per cent, from tuberculosis of the kidneys. In the last three months, with the complicity of the Vichv pupnets, 7i billions of new currency had been printed and this took no account of the requisitioning which the Germans pay for in drafts. S'nce the beginning of the occupation 750 billion francs have been paid to the Germans, 854 million being oaid daily. . . Britain’s ’ diplomatic. restrictions were seriously weakeninp - resistance inside France, added M. D’Astier “We are permitted to send secret communications onlv through a Bri-. tish c’pher. but official communications between London Algiers are so delaved, it is almost impossible to act.” M. D’Astier claimed -the spirit of the members’ resistance movement was already affected, because they are not receiving early answers.- and suggested the delayed receipt of messages from members’ '..resistance group would increase the difficulties of a second front.