500.A15A4/1866: Telegram
The Chargé in France (Marriner) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 17—8:45 a.m.]
224. French reaction to the President’s message on disarmament has been generally hostile in accordance with the traditional Gallic attitude of being surprised and suspicious of every new step. Something of the reasoning that enters into this attitude was given me yesterday when I saw Léger98 at the Foreign Office to protest about the turnover [Page 148] tax arrangement with Italy. His first reaction on the President’s message was one of fear that it was all an English trick inspired by MacDonald to make France’s position more difficult since he said at the present time, with Germany in its inflamed condition, with the psychology of the whole German people turned toward the cult of force, France with her lesser population could not afford to give up that preponderance in war material which was her only safeguard. He said that Italian policy was likewise hostile to France and that England had never been sufficiently firm with German aspirations for rearmament to inspire confidence in France. Therefore, he did not feel at this time that the French people could be persuaded to give up so much as one of the ancient cannons at the Invalides.
I pointed out the stress which the President had laid on the immediate steps to be taken and the agreements necessary in order that these steps should be made with a feeling of security, namely, the agreement not to increase during the course of disarmament negotiations beyond treaty limits, and the nonaggression agreement for the same period, and said that the weaving of these proposals into the fabric of disarmament negotiations should give the French the very assurances they desire from the rest of the world. He admitted that they did constitute a step in advance.
Massigli, Comert99 and young Jean Paul-Boncour1 (the officials most immediately concerned with disarmament) were much more favorably impressed and realized the great step in advance contained in the message.