740.0011 European War 1939/7369: Telegram
The Chargé in France (Matthews) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 1, 1941—12:20 p.m.]
1209. My telegram 1199, December 30, 7 p.m. Chevalier, the Minister of Education, told me that the force and forthright frankness of the President’s speech had greatly impressed the members of the Government and confirmation of this fact comes to me from various sources. The Marshal, he said, was “not at all displeased.” The latter looked upon it in part, he implied, as a vindication of his dismissal of Laval (who as the Department will recall was the strongest believer in a complete and early German victory and who based his entire policy on that theory). Some other members of the Government he said, however, were “disturbed”. They found it too strong, they feared German reaction, and it put an end to their hopes for an early negotiated peace. (Please see my telegram 1200, December 30, 8 p.m.,76 reporting Flandin’s remarks to me and my telegram 1185, December 27, 5 p.m., with respect to the “appeasement” tendencies of the Government.)
The mass of the French people continue to be delighted and in the words of a former prefect, a personal friend of mine who has just called to extend his congratulations: “It has given new hope to a despairing nation to look forward to 1941.”
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