740.0011 European War 1939/10971: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Leahy) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 15—6:30 p.m.]
561. Marshal Petain has just made the following statement over the radio:
“Frenchmen: You have learned of Admiral Darlan’s talks with Hitler. I had approved the principle of their meeting. Their new [Page 171] meeting enables us to light the road before us and continue conversations in which we are engaged with the German Government. It is no longer a question today for public opinion, so often anxious because badly informed, to wait our chances, to measure our risks, to judge our gestures. It is a question for you Frenchmen to follow me without question on the paths of honor and national interests. If with rigid public discipline we are able successfully to conclude these negotiations, France can overcome her defeat and maintain in the world her rank as a European and Colonial power. My friends, that is all I have to say to you.”