851.00/2750: Telegram

The Consul General at Algiers (Cole) to the Secretary of State

249. From Murphy. Chatel, Governor General of Algeria, tells me this morning that in his opinion the Laval Government could be far worse from our point of view since it does not include members of the pro-Nazi Jacques Doriot group27 or extremists like Déat or Luchaire.28 He is convinced that Laval notwithstanding everything will make an effort to work with the United States and also that the Germans want Laval in power because they would like to use him in an effort eventually to negotiate peace. Temporarily he said the Germans believe that Laval can hold the country in an inert state. If a radical of the Doriot stamp were put in power an uncontrollable situation could easily develop.

The Governor General states that there is a great deal of nervousness and tension in North Africa, that he is taking special police measures but that he believes there will be a period of several weeks of calm. In his opinion Laval is incapable of taking immediate unfavorable action in French Africa and has no such intention. He is convinced that the Laval Government is purely a transition affair. Marshal Pétain he said has definitely lost prestige in this area and he considers Darlan without current political importance.

Repeated to Vichy. [Murphy.]

Cole
  1. Parti Populaire Français.
  2. Marcel Déat and Jean Luchaire, editors of the French newspapers L’Oeuvre and Les Nouveaux Temps, respectively; both newspapers under German control.