851B.01/10½
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
The French Ambassador called to see me at his request. The Ambassador referred to his recent conversation with the Secretary of State during which, he said, the Secretary of State had advanced certain arguments with regard to French policy and the situation of the present French Government which he, the Ambassador, had found very distasteful. He said that whatever the Secretary of State might feel with regard to the situation of France, the fact remained that the Pétain68 government was the legitimate government of France; that it was confronted with an appalling situation and that it was doing the best it could under existing conditions. The Ambassador said he had had a rather difficult conversation with the Secretary of State whom he characterized as having been in a very nervous condition. I said that the Secretary of State obviously reflected as usual, with complete precision, the point of view of this Government, which was one of very real disquiet with regard to the situation in Martinique.
The Ambassador said that he had now received instructions from his Government in the matter and he was authorized to make the following proposal:
- 1.
- The French Government would request the German Government to release it from the terms of the armistice so as to permit the French Government to give an official guarantee to the United States that the French war vessels now in Martinique would not leave French territorial waters.
- 2.
- If, in the event that at any time the French authorities considered it necessary for one of these war vessels to leave the territorial waters of Martinique in order, for example, to preserve order in Guadeloupe, the French Embassy in Washington would notify the United States Government in advance of any such movement.
- 3.
- An American naval officer would be stationed in Martinique attached to the American Consulate and this officer would be given full “facilities” by Admiral Robert, the French naval commander, to assure himself at all times that the terms of this understanding would be complied with.
The Ambassador asked me what my reaction to this proposal was. I said that I naturally would wish to discuss it with the President and with the Navy Department, but at first glance it seemed to me totally unsatisfactory. I said in the first place it was all contingent upon the agreement of the German Government and what assurance was there that such agreement would be given. I further stated that the connotation that the German Government could decide what should or should not be done on one of the islands of the West Indies was exceedingly distasteful to me as a proposition. In the second place, the American naval officer who it was suggested should be sent to Martinique under the terms of the proposal would have absolutely no authority and would apparently have no further function than that of a watchman. I reminded the Ambassador that in his own proposal the commission of American naval officers who he had suggested would go to Martinique would have been given entire jurisdiction over the French naval vessels. In the third place, I said, no reference whatever was made to the airplanes and I reminded the Ambassador that this in my judgment was one of the most important features of the entire question.
The Ambassador argued about the matter for some time, but I merely limited myself to stating that I would hope to speak with the Ambassador again early next week and give him the views of this Government with regard to his proposal.
- Henri Philippe Pétain, French Chief of State.↩