FRENCH WARNING TO ITALY

Southland Times, Issue 23693, 16 December 1938, Page 5

FRENCH WARNING TO ITALY

No Part Of Empire To Be Given Up ROME’S DISAVOWAL OF CLAIMS ACCEPTED (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright) (Received December 15, 6.30 p.m.) LONDON, December 14. “Thus far the Italian Government has not produced claims against French territory, but France wants Italy to know that if it meant conflict Italy would never obtain an inch of Tunisia, Jibuti, Corsica or any other part of our empire,” declared the French Foreign Minister (M. Georges Bonnet) to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. He added that France was ignoring the polemics of the Italian Press in view of the disavowal of the claims by the Italian Foreign Minister (Count Galeazzo Ciano) and Signor Mussolini. The German Foreign Minister (Herr Joachim von Ribbentrop) had given an assurance while he was in Paris that Germany would remain faithful to. the Rome-Berlin axis but had no direct interest in the Mediterranean. M. Bonnet declared, on behalf of the Government, that all France’s land, air and sea forces would -immediately be utilized for the defence of Britain in the event of unprovoked aggression. He added that Herr von Ribbentrop had given an assurance that only 3500 Germans remained in Spain on December 6, and all were behind the lines. The Minister for the Navy (M. Cesar Campinchi) told the Naval Committee that France’s Navy was now strong enough to deal with the united navies of Italy and Germany. In the House of Commons the Prime Minister (Mr Neville Chamberlain) defined the Government’s attitude to the effect on the Anglo-Italian agreement about the status quo in the Mediterranean, particularly the position of Tunis in the event of an attack. “In the view of Britain the undertaking to respect the status quo in the Mediterranean as embodied in the Anglo-Italian agreement certainly applies to Tunis,” Mr Chamberlain said. “Any action which would be contrary to the agreement would of course be a matter of grave concern to Britain. The Government cannot, however, contemplate the possibility of such an attack as is suggested in the questions asked in this House.”