Campaign Against ‘Save The Franc’

Northern Advocate, 7 January 1948, Page 4

Campaign Against ‘Save The Franc’

LONDON Tue. (11 a.m.). —M. Schuman’s “Save the Franc” bill gained final parliamentary approval today. The Council of the Republic (upper house) passed the measure by 160 votes to 109. The Paris correspondent of the British United Press says there is a growing nationwide campaign against the bill. Thousands of small shopkeepers closed their shops as a protest. French domestic worKers are being sacked wholesale following the passage of the bill which, among other provisions, imposes on employers a tax of £2OO a head annually on all domestic servants. DE GAULLE SPEAKS

Strong forces of French police, wearing steel helmets and carrying sub-machine-guns, surrounded the city square at Saint Etienne when General de Gaulle addressed a crowd of 65,000. General de Gaulle, who spoke on the organisation of industry, said that the management, administration and workers should themselves settle their conditions of work, including their wages. “It is thus that we shall see born a psychology different from that of exploitation of one by the other, or that of the class strugle,’’ he said: Saint Etienne was me scene of some of the worst rioting in the recent social upheaval in France. On Sunday, however, the Communists ordered their followers to boycott the meeting. “ABSURD SYSTEM" General de Gaulle said the,economic salvation of France and the betterment of the working man’s lot lay in the idea of “association” of all parties in industry to settle their conditions. He said France had seen enough of the “absurd system by which, for a minimum wage the workers make a minimum effort.” General de Gaulle’s speech was clearly intended as his answer to the question asked ever since his campaign opened—what would he do with the trade union movement if he came into power. He had said before that once the trade unions were freed from politics, they would be well fitted to take a constructive part in the regime of association; but that it was impossible to organise economic forces to rebuild France until trade unions were rescued from those who misused them for political reasons. TRADES UNIONS’ PLACE Ho explained his idea further. He said that once the trade union movement had been reorganised, the representatives of labour “would and should be incorporated in the state.” By this he apparently meant that they should take their place on the legislative plane, for he went on to stress the importance which would then be assumed by “a council of the Republic where the representatives of labour would sit at the same time as representatives of the local assem-