France Will Defend Every Inch of Soil

Northern Advocate, 26 January 1939, Page 7

France Will Defend Every Inch of Soil

(Received 10 a.m.) PARIS, January 24. The Colonial Committee of the Chamber of Deputies has tabled a resolution proclaiming that all parts of the French Empire, whether Con-* tinental or overseas, over which the French flag is flying, have been placed under the safeguard of the sovereignty of national France, and they cannot be divided, delegated, shared, or abandoned. Maximum Claims The “Maximum” Italian demands on France are reported to be: ' 1 1. Cession of Nice, which always has a sentimental appeal to Italians, 2 Cession of Corsica, which has a strategic importance to Italy. : 3 Cession of at least Tunisia, where the majority of the colonists are Italians. 1 4 Acquisition of Jibuti. This port is necessary as an outlet to Eastern Abyssinia.

5 Taking over by Italy of the' Addis-Ababa-Jibuti railway. •; . ,

6 Dominant control of the Suez Canal. 7 France’s recognition of General Franco’s Government in Spain and that. General Franco must, win, the civil war. Minimum Claims. The “minimum demands”—said to represent the greatest possible scaling down of Italy’s requirements—are given as follows: 1. Equal rights, including administrative rights between Italians iand French in Tunisia, over-riding the 1935 agreement between France and Italy.

2. Share in the control of the Suez Canal, the Italians being given' a superior status to the French and equal rights with Britain, on the Canal. • 3. Jibuti to be made a free port. 4. Italians to be given a controlling interest in the Addis Ababa-Jibuti railway. 5. Territorial on the southern frontier of Libya so. that the Tibesti passes would, be opento Italian caravans travelling between Lake Chad and Libya. 6. Granting of belligerent rights to General Franco.

There is no mention of Corsica or Nice in the minimum demands, while it is denied that the Italians have ambitions in the French Department of Savoy. -

One of the leaders of the campaign said last week: “If we get the minimum demands immediately it will end the controversy and result in improved relations between France and Italy, but if it drags on, then it means that the Italian people will only *be satisfied with the maximum demands.”,