FATE OF FRENCH NAVY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 24 October 1940, Page 5

FATE OF FRENCH NAVY

IMPORTANT PART IN DISCUSSIONS LONDON, 23rd October. There is still a strong suspicion in London that the meeting between Herr Hitler and M. Laval somewhere near Paris was to discuss the possibility of French help to the Axic Powers in return for fresh peace terms, but it is believed that M. Laval has not the complete assent of his colleagues. An official statement from Vichy says that France will undertake no military, aerial or naval action against Britain. Because of the inferences drawn from the negotiations, M. Baudouin, the Foreign Minister in the Vichy Government, announced that any idea of military action was excluded. A Vichy spokesman has promised an important communique this afternoon on the Paris negotiations. An American wireless commentator insists that the fate of the French navy is playing an important part in the Paris discussions. He suggests that M. Laval is “up to something,” but believes that there is little possibility of his success because of the unwillingness of the French people to be drawn into war against their former allies.