852.00/6164: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Bullitt) to the Secretary of State
[Received 5:35 p.m.]
1117. Continuing my 1116, August 5, noon.40 Chautemps41 then said that the British had decided to push the recognition of the King of Italy as Emperor of Ethiopia at the next meeting of the League. They were ready to offer Mussolini this real advantage in return for Mussolini’s relinquishment of certain positions to which he had no right, such as his occupation of the Balearic Islands, et cetera. Chautemps said he felt that the British were right in attempting to reach reconciliation with Italy. Indeed he would confess that he also had been thinking of making a similar move and he was only sorry that the British had gotten ahead of him and had acted in the matter without consulting him and thus might work out a reconciliation between Great Britain and Italy while leaving French-Italian relations thoroughly bad.
I asked Chautemps if he intended to make a similar move for rapprochement with Italy immediately. He said that he did not since Mussolini would come to the conclusion that France was merely being towed along by England. As things stood now he would prefer to follow in England’s wake.
I asked Chautemps if he had made any attempts recently to reach reconciliation with Germany. He said François-Poncet had made many attempts but had been able to get nowhere and repeated once more that France is prepared to make great concessions to even giving up colonies provided it should seem possible to work out a real reconciliation with Germany but will give up nothing unless a genuine reconciliation should seem possible.