NEAR BANKRUPTCY

Grey River Argus, 31 January 1946, Page 5

NEAR BANKRUPTCY

FRANCE’S POVERTY Inflation Most Critical (Rec. 7.15) LONDON, Jan. 30. The French National Assembly passed a motion of confidence in the Gouin Government by 514 votes to 51. There was, earlier, a heated scene when the Communist Party leader. M. Duclos, made an attack on General de Gaulle. A member of the M.R.P. (Catholic Party), M. Maurice Schumans, who was a 8.8. C. announcer during the war, said that he would not allow anyone to attack the man who was the symbol of French resistance. This remark led to a tussle between members of the M.R.P. and members of the other two main parties, the Communists and Socialists. An uproar continued several minutes. It ended only when President Gouin went to tn- rostrum. M. Gouin said ' that he still regarded General de Gaulle as the saviour of his country. M. Gouin, after order had been restored, said that the new Government had to face a situation of unprecedented difficulty. There was one thousand million pounds, sterling worth of currency now in circulation, but only 37 per cent, of this currency was covered by normal assets. This year France’s budgetary deficit amounted to more than six hundred and fifteen millions sterling, and it would be more difficult to meet than the deficit of 1945. He said that short-term savings would be increasingly neglected, as the money would be invested more and more in private enterprise. M. Gouin stated that if this dangerous cycle was not interrupted, then France would soon be plunged into such a state of inflation that the workers, the civil servants, and the small investors would be reduced to penury. All except the most important of their industries would be ruined. M. Gouin said that the consumption of wine must be curtailed. The wheat situation was bad, and no improvement in the bread situation could be expected. Everyone must make sacrifices and must work harder.Nationalisation Policy MASSIVE RETRENCHMENT PARIS, Jan. 29 President Felix Gouin in his inaugural address to the Assembly, said that a grand three Power accord —Britain, Russia and France — was the pivot of his foreign policy. France would pursue co-operation with all Allied nations and friends. M. Gouin, eching General de Gaulle, said that he hoped Spain would eventually join the United Nations when she again discovered the road to democracy. France would continue to give protection and asylum to refugee Spanish Republicans and follow up international conversations in which France asked Britain and America to jointly discuss the state of their relations with Spain. The Government was immediately inaugurating -a massive reduction of civil and military expenses and -.was also freezing salaries. Increased nationalisation measures would affect banks, mines, insurance companies, electricity, gas undertakings and part of the merchant navy. France would continue to press for the internationalisation of the Ruhr and the prevention of the reconstitution of a centralised' Germany.