852.00/5799: Telegram
The Embassy in France to the Secretary of State
[Received June 22—9:15 p.m.]
838. The Ambassador who is on a brief inspection trip of our consulates in southern France telephoned the Embassy this evening at 10 o’clock to request that we relay the following message to you. He did not wish to call Washington from the south of France because of bad telephone connections. In fact it is only with great difficulty that he is able to understand us when we talk with him over the telephone from Paris.
The Ambassador received at 10 o’clock this evening a telephone call from Blum. Blum told him that he had decided to remain in the Government [Page 334] and had just accepted the post of Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister without Portfolio.
Blum then informed the Ambassador that the Germans had withdrawn from the London meeting today with regard to the “Leipzig affair” with the announcement that they intended to take action themselves with reprisals of their own independently of anybody else. He replied there was a conversation this evening over the telephone between Eden and Delbos (who incidentally will continue as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new Government just formed this evening) with regard to the German action. Both Eden and Delbos are extremely apprehensive. They both agreed to have their Ambassadors in Berlin go to the German Foreign Office tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock and make a démarche and to urge the Germans to be quiet and handle the whole affair in a peaceful way.
Blum then told the Ambassador that he was very much disturbed over this step of the Germans and asked Mr. Bullitt whether or not the American Government could have its Ambassador in Berlin do the same thing. Mr. Bullitt replied that he was entirely uninformed with regard to the matter and assumed Washington was uninformed but felt quite certain that the American Government could not join in a Franco-British démarche. He added, however, that he would be glad to take up the matter with Washington.
Mr. Bullitt requested me13 over the telephone to suggest to you that you might wish to consider telephoning to the German Ambassador in Washington to ask him for news regarding the German action in London today and in so doing state to him that we were very much concerned about the whole affair and hoped that everything would be settled quietly and amicably.